Girl's hit-and-run death could spark new laws
LAKE STEVENS, Wash. - A Snohomish County father is pushing for tougher state laws against hit-and-run drivers after his teenage daughter was killed while walking on Highway 2.
Rob Trickler is making it a personal fight to prevent similar tragedies for other families.
"I don't ever intend to give up on this. And one of these days, we're going to find who did this," he says.
Rob admits his 15-year-old daughter had her troubles. She skipped school, stayed away from home for days at a time, got involved with things she shouldn't have.
But in the wake of her death - he's battling for change. He wants justice for his daughter, Heather, who was killed seven months ago.
The hit-and-run happened the night of May 30 - right around the time of Rob Trickler's birthday.
His daughter was walking with a friend, midspan on the Highway 2 trestle, walking on the shoulder, when a vehicle came up from behind and plowed into her.
The driver of that vehicle still have not been found, nor has a friend whom detectives believe she was walking with at the time.
Investigators believe it was a blue-and-tan 1995 GMC Astro Van hit Heather and left her for dead. Neither the driver of the van nor the friend she was with have ever come forward.
"Quite frankly, I hope the silence is tearing them apart," says her father.
Her body was found two days later by construction workers.
Rob Trickler, who's an attorney, is working with state lawmakers to draft three bills in Heather's memory - to be introduced in the upcoming 2010 legislative session, which starts Jan. 11.
"Because this pain is absolutely extraordinary, and it's something nobody - no parent on this earth - should have to go through ... " he says, trailing off.
One of the bills would increase the penalty for drivers who leave the scene of an accident involving a pedestrian.
Another would make the crime victims fund available to help with hospital, funeral and counseling expenses in pedestrian hit-and-run cases - something not necessarily done now.
And for Rob Trickler, the most important bill is one that would give parents more legal tools to make their problematic children follow rules, including longer jail time, rehab and intervention.
He tried and failed to keep Heather in school and to stop her from leaving home. But authorities could only do so much to intervene.
A father filled with so much pain - desperate to make sure other families don't face a similar fate.
"If I can save one child, one family relationship with this, then I will be able to help my daughter leave a legacy," he says.
Rob Trickler is making it a personal fight to prevent similar tragedies for other families.
"I don't ever intend to give up on this. And one of these days, we're going to find who did this," he says.
Rob admits his 15-year-old daughter had her troubles. She skipped school, stayed away from home for days at a time, got involved with things she shouldn't have.
But in the wake of her death - he's battling for change. He wants justice for his daughter, Heather, who was killed seven months ago.
The hit-and-run happened the night of May 30 - right around the time of Rob Trickler's birthday.
His daughter was walking with a friend, midspan on the Highway 2 trestle, walking on the shoulder, when a vehicle came up from behind and plowed into her.
The driver of that vehicle still have not been found, nor has a friend whom detectives believe she was walking with at the time.
Investigators believe it was a blue-and-tan 1995 GMC Astro Van hit Heather and left her for dead. Neither the driver of the van nor the friend she was with have ever come forward.
"Quite frankly, I hope the silence is tearing them apart," says her father.
Her body was found two days later by construction workers.
Rob Trickler, who's an attorney, is working with state lawmakers to draft three bills in Heather's memory - to be introduced in the upcoming 2010 legislative session, which starts Jan. 11.
"Because this pain is absolutely extraordinary, and it's something nobody - no parent on this earth - should have to go through ... " he says, trailing off.
One of the bills would increase the penalty for drivers who leave the scene of an accident involving a pedestrian.
Another would make the crime victims fund available to help with hospital, funeral and counseling expenses in pedestrian hit-and-run cases - something not necessarily done now.
And for Rob Trickler, the most important bill is one that would give parents more legal tools to make their problematic children follow rules, including longer jail time, rehab and intervention.
He tried and failed to keep Heather in school and to stop her from leaving home. But authorities could only do so much to intervene.
A father filled with so much pain - desperate to make sure other families don't face a similar fate.
"If I can save one child, one family relationship with this, then I will be able to help my daughter leave a legacy," he says.