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By Beacon Journal staff
POSTED: 03:42 p.m. EDT, Apr 29, 2009
A Garfield Heights man whose car struck and killed a Boston Heights police officer along state Route 8 last winter has pleaded no contest to reckless driving.
John Gavelek, 51, reached a plea agreement with prosecutors last week that included the dismissal of a misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter charge and another moving violation citation.
He was fined $560 in court costs and sanctions for the minor misdemeanor traffic offense.
Gavelek was accused in Stow Municipal Court in the death of officer Jarod Dean, 24, of Hudson. He was driving a box truck hauling vending machine equipment near Hines Hill Road on Jan. 19 when he struck the officer.
Dean had been dispatched to the area to remove debris in the roadway and was out of his patrol car when Gavelek failed to see him, the Ohio Highway Patrol reported.
Gavelek's attorney, Michael Peterson of Cleveland, said the incident was difficult for Gavelek as well as the Dean family. However, he said the crash was an unavoidable accident and that the plea agreement was appropriate.
A Garfield Heights man whose car struck and killed a Boston Heights police officer along state Route 8 last winter has pleaded no contest to reckless driving.
John Gavelek, 51, reached a plea agreement with prosecutors last week that included the dismissal of a misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter charge and another moving violation citation.
He was fined $560 in court costs and sanctions for the minor misdemeanor traffic offense.
Gavelek was accused in Stow Municipal Court in the death of officer Jarod Dean, 24, of Hudson. He was driving a box truck hauling vending machine equipment near Hines Hill Road on Jan. 19 when he struck the officer.
Dean had been dispatched to the area to remove debris in the roadway and was out of his patrol car when Gavelek failed to see him, the Ohio Highway Patrol reported.
Gavelek's attorney, Michael Peterson of Cleveland, said the incident was difficult for Gavelek as well as the Dean family. However, he said the crash was an unavoidable accident and that the plea agreement was appropriate.
Comments
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rootstown, oh
Posted 03:58 PM, 04/29/2009
i guess when a cop walks into traffic and surprise-gets killed,somebody has to pay.switch roles and this would not end with the same result.hey kids-stay out of the road!
Akron, OH
Posted 04:05 PM, 04/29/2009
I'm sure this accident is a tragedy for both families.
My brother-in-law is a law enforcement officer, but in this case I am glad the prosecutor's office didn't try to make an (inappropriate) example out of the truck's driver.
It seems this plea agreement is about as fair as possible for all parties concerned.
akron, oh
Posted 04:45 PM, 04/29/2009
Tragic for both families?Yes.However, my personal belief is that this officer was inexperienced.I thought this was initially ruled an accident?And though Mr.Gavelek was given a " light"sentence, I'm sure that the Boston Heights police and the family of Mr. Dean felt that some justice must be imposed.I agree with Toxic Nut.
somewhere near you, CA
Posted 05:09 PM, 04/29/2009
How can you run someone down and it's an "unavoidable accident"? Either the cop was where he shouldn't be or the driver failed to pay attention to the road.
IF it was the cops fault, the driver shouldn't be getting a reckless driving charge and points on his license.
Wanna bet this would have turned out MUCH differently if the driver had even a hint of alcohol in his system?...
Akron, OH
Posted 06:39 PM, 04/29/2009
@QA who wrote:
----------------------
Wanna bet this would have turned out MUCH differently if the driver had even a hint of alcohol in his system?...
----------------------
Probably so, but there wasn't.
You might as well have said:
'Wanna bet this would have turned out MUCH differently if the truck driver was operating a time machine instead?'
akron, oh
Posted 07:16 PM, 04/29/2009
If I remember from the original reports,wasn't the police crusier parked near the right berm? And if it was,being a driver myself, i would have merged to the left a lane or even two as a courtesy to the officer.No way would i have expected him to be standing in a lane that far away at that time of the morning in the dark.I'm sorry for both families involved.Hope i got my facts straight.
