A driver ticketed six months after her involvement in a fatal accident is challenging the tickets in court.
Lapeer County resident Bethany Watteny, 43, struck and killed Goodrich High School graduate, Theodore Petrill, 26, last June. Watteny was west bound on Davison Road, east of Lake Nepessing Road, when the GM Envoy she was driving hit Petrill from behind.
According to a Lapeer County Sheriff’s Department report, Petrill was walking along the side of the road with his fiancee, Emily Saylor, at the time of the accident.
‘I think it’s pretty unbelievable that she’s making us go through this again,? said Petrill’s sister, Laura Nick, of Goodrich.
Though no tickets were issued at the time of the accident, Watteny was later issued two tickets by Lapeer County Prosecutor Chief Assistant Mike Hodges. One ticket was for careless driving, the other for failure to yield. Both are civil infractions and carry a combined penalty of five points and a $200 fine.
‘If she would have taken those two tickets, that would be the end of this, ? said Petrill’s father, Ted Petrill, of Goodrich.
Both Petrill’s father and sister said it’s been difficult to endure hearings about the accident.
‘It’s been worse going through this now,? said Nick, 33. ‘It’s like reliving the whole thing. That’s what we have to go through ’cause she’s worried about some little tickets.?
‘There’s been no remorse on her side,? said Ted Sr, 59.
Watteny would not respond to requests for a comment from The Citizen phone calls..
‘If (Petrill) was at fault by walking too close to that white (fog) line, he paid with his life,? said Nick. She said she feels it only fair Watteny be penalized in some way as well.
‘If you’re completely oblivious and you never saw anything…as far as I’m concerned, that’s reckless,? said Nick, referring to Watteny’s police statement that she never saw Petrill on the side of the road.
Both Nick and Ted Sr. said they understand the incident was an accident. However, they said, that should not be sufficient excuse to evade penalty.
‘She took a life,? said Nick.
Ted Sr., agreed. ‘I just want what’s fair,? he said.
‘I really can’t understand how somebody can kill somebody and have no remorse. We weren’t after jail time or anything. Why does she have to slap us in the face??
Nick and Ted Sr. said though the tickets would offer some sense of closure, the accident will continue to resonate in their day-to-day lives.
‘There’s no word I can tell you for losing my child,? said Ted Sr. ‘For the rest of my life, part of my heart’s gone.?
A hearing date is scheduled for April 17 in Lapeer.