Letter to the Editor

Compassion lacking

Re: Your Nov. 19 article, "Teen's family, CHP reach $1.4 million settlement":

December 3, 2003—I just read the article on the California Highway Patrol's settlement with the Mohorko family. I was again looking for some sign of compassion for the family, some kind of admittance of wrong, something that would give me a sense of respect for law enforcement again.

Even after the accident, I still believed that in the end they would say how sorry they were and that they would try to do whatever it takes to keep this from happening to another family. I was wrong.

I was sickened by the lack of compassion shown by the spokesperson for the CHP, Tom Marshall. After everything that has happened, there is still no sign of the CHP taking any responsibility for what happened. They attempted to put the blame on an innocent man, Chris Haynes, Jessica Mohorko's boyfriend. If any one of us had tried to blame someone for a crime we did not commit, we would have been arrested.

I think it is time for law- enforcement agencies, which are supposed to "serve and protect," to stop killing innocent people and saying, "Oh, we're sorry, it was an accident," and then continue to let this kind of thing happen over and over and over again.

There need to be changes made so that this never happens again. I am not willing to lose one of my children like this.

The life of a beautiful young woman was taken, a family was devastated, and a whole lot of young people lost a good friend. Their lives will never be the same. We will never forget, and those of us who loved Jessica will see to it that the CHP and its officers never do either. The CHP must rethink its policies on pursuits, take responsibility for what happened and stop putting the blame on others.

God has another angel in heaven, but we sure could have used her here just a little bit longer.

-- Debbie Estrada,

Oxnard

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