Westerville teen charged in death of pedestrian

Todd Baker was in Westerville to plan his wedding when he decided to go for a walk on the afternoon of July 2. He never came back.

[grassman]

Hope it was shows a point to everyone but it won't....how sad :(

[Jason]

this kid should NEVER drive again

[Life Long Resident]

Maybe everyone should listen to Emily. We need to help one another not add fuel to the fire. Emily, my sincere sympathy to you and your family. Thanks for for taking the high road, we are proud of you.

[Arena Folk]

Wow ... Difficult.

[anonymous]

The victim's fiance showed incredible compassion by asking for prayers for the teenage driver... This is a sad case. I don't know, I might agree with the comment about him never being allowed to drive a car again. However, I don't agree with the comments that I'm sure are coming (I'm surprised they haven't yet) that this kid belongs in prison for any serious length of time. That's not the purpose of our justice system... This kid is probably devastated as well as the victim's family. You can be sure that he won't ever do anything so stupid again, which really, at the end of the day, is all one can hope for out of a story like this.

Very sad.

[Jeff]

My Heart goes out to the victims family. It is tragic. My Heart also goes out to the driver. How many of us have ever hit the rumble strips on the side of the hideway or checked a curb? If you have done that this could have been you. It's not like the kid was racing or under the influence. There are some mistakes that are genuine. Unfortunately this one had horrific consquences. Don't be so quick to judge people.

[I Baja]

William L. Hall, Jr. regardless of what justice may be handed down to you, I suggest that you move forward and make something out of your life. You have a huge debt to pay.

Prayers for both families involved...

[NoTime]

I am sorry for all the parties in this case.

Does Ohio have graduated licensing for 16 year olds? May not have made a difference in this case given time of day.

We all have to be very careful using phones, CDs, e.tc. while driving.

[Jeanne Holzapfel]

I am so sorry for this young man and the man about to be married. One life taken too soon, and the other one will live with it the rest of his life. What a tragedy. Drivers must know that they should do nothing except be responsible for their driving. Things happen before one knows it. My prayers go out to the driver and the victim's family and fiancee.

[Alli S]

anonymous wrote:

The victim's fiance showed incredible compassion by asking for prayers for the teenage driver... This is a sad case. I don't know, I might agree with the comment about him never being allowed to drive a car again. However, I don't agree with the comments that I'm sure are coming (I'm surprised they haven't yet) that this kid belongs in prison for any serious length of time. That's not the purpose of our justice system... This kid is probably devastated as well as the victim's family. You can be sure that he won't ever do anything so stupid again, which really, at the end of the day, is all one can hope for out of a story like this.
Very sad.

Wait, being sorry means you shouldn't have to pay for your crimes? So drunk drivers who kill people should walk free?

When you take your driver's license test you are agreeing to be a responsible driver and look at the road. Just because being a distracted driver is common does not make it in any way excusable. We all have a responsibility to be good drivers. I hope this case makes people realize how important that covenant is.

Unfortunately I think our friend here will be driving again very soon. In America we take the privilege to drive lightly and it shouldn't be. In my opinion if you kill someone that's it. No more driving for you. Unfortunately in this country we would rather have more people die than irresponsible drivers off the road.

[Pray]

Ok, I'll PRAY that this kid never drives again. If so, I PRAY that he isn't in my neck of the woods. I think you shouldn't be able to get your license until your 18. These kids and cell phones now a days are just crazy. Texting and dialing. That alone should change the legal age limit. When I was 16 we didn't have Cell phones yet. In 1996 we had pagers.

[cammy]

Emily said it best. What a kind heart she has. This is a tradegy for all those involved. This kid does not belong in jail. He already has a lifetime sentence.

[Involved]

I personally know both the fiance and driver; I can tell you that Emily and her family are very good people and that we indeed should pray for all involved. What happened that day was terrible, there is no getting around that. What happened could have happened to any of us-I've been distracted while driving and I regularly walk/jog around my neighborhood, which has no shortage of drivers young or old. The bottom line is this-we must learn from this and become better for it; learn to show compassion like Emily and her family, and learn what can happen if you loose focus for just one small instance while driving.

The teenager is a good kid-I was a HS coach of his. He worked hard and did what you asked of him, and never talked back. I am sure he regrets this every day and will for a long time.

[anonymous]

Alli S wrote:

<quoted text>
Wait, being sorry means you shouldn't have to pay for your crimes? So drunk drivers who kill people should walk free?

I knew we couldn't get through a Dispatch article without at least one tough-on-crime chest pounder...

Let me break this down for you in the simplest terms I can. Being distracted by a phone call, or a CD, or a crying baby, is not even close to the same thing as driving drunk. Before this driver hit the pedestrian, he was doing nothing illegal. Irresponsible, sure, but not illegal. And not something that kills thousands of people each year. Furthermore, he was doing something that tens of thousands of people take every day.

I don't care what you CLAIM you do, If you drive, you've taken your eyes off the road for a few seconds to do something at some point in your life. In this case, that was all it took for this tragic accident to occur. But it does't mean he's a criminal, it doesn't mean he needs to "pay for his crimes" (whatever the hell that means anyway) by going to prison... Even the victim's wife can evidently see that.

[sunshine]

I think young people shouldn't be driving without adult until 18,because I've heard so many story of young people themself getting killed or killing others over not paying attention or horse playing..I think this kid is being punish by just knowing he killed some one..thats the worse thing anyone could live with.

[anna]

I heard a rumor that the teen's parents had no auto insurance. If this is true, the parents of the teen should be punished HARSHLY also...

[close to teen]

anna wrote:

I heard a rumor that the teen's parents had no auto insurance. If this is true, the parents of the teen should be punished HARSHLY also...

SO MUCH OF A RUMOR

[Alli S]

anonymous wrote:

<quoted text>
I knew we couldn't get through a Dispatch article without at least one tough-on-crime chest pounder...
Let me break this down for you in the simplest terms I can. Being distracted by a phone call, or a CD, or a crying baby, is not even close to the same thing as driving drunk. Before this driver hit the pedestrian, he was doing nothing illegal. Irresponsible, sure, but not illegal. And not something that kills thousands of people each year. Furthermore, he was doing something that tens of thousands of people take every day.
I don't care what you CLAIM you do, If you drive, you've taken your eyes off the road for a few seconds to do something at some point in your life. In this case, that was all it took for this tragic accident to occur. But it does't mean he's a criminal, it doesn't mean he needs to "pay for his crimes" (whatever the hell that means anyway) by going to prison... Even the victim's wife can evidently see that.

Uh, I hate to break it to you, but not looking at the road whilst you are driving is illegal. According to the Ohio Driver's Manual, "Willful or wanton disregard of the safety of persons or property" is a four-point violation. I think we can agree that not looking at the road falls under the umbrella of wanton disregard.

I don't know what fairy tale land you live in, but killing someone is a crime. By pay for his crimes, I mean he should be subject to legal repercussions for his crime of killing someone. I hope that clears that up for you.

[LAG3163]

I'm sure everyone is terribly saddened. It was an aweful tradegy. Why do the state have to add a delinquency count of vehicular manslaughter. Why not just kill the poor kid now? Throwing someone in jail must make this country feel better! Aren't we spiteful enough already?

[anonymous]

I have teenagers myself and driving with them made me nervous. I do agree that it would be great to wait till they are 18. I feel our prisions should be for people with cruel intent. this young teenager is not a bad person. He is already feeling bad for killing someone. And to the fiance you are a very kind person to see thru your pain to have compassion for this teenager. I
have been praying for the fiance and the teenager.
It could have been any of us who could have taken our eyes of for one second. Maybe we all could look at what if it was my teenage son what would I want to happen to him.