Back on September 23rd 2006 a very good friend of mine was killed in a drinking and driving accident in Olympia around 2 a.m. He was a passenger in the car and on Sunday it will be one year to the day of the morning of the accident. Below is the original story that was in local daily O. We are having a candle light vigil at the accident sight on Sunday at 7pm. Losing someone is never easy but still the driver has not been convicted of anything!!!! She has had many pre trials and always gets a continuation. The hearing now is set for October 1st at the Thurston County Court House.

I was wondering if somebody from your news station would be able to come to our candle light vigil to cover the story since it has been one year and still no criminal charges have been made. We have not and will not stop fighting for Jeremy until justice is served. I would really appreciate it if you guys would be able to broadcast this for our community to see and to let everyone know we have not forgotten. Jeremy had a lot of friends and family that held him very close to their heart. We have all lost a precious person!!!! Not only did we lose a good friend but Dylan, his 3 years old son, has lost the most! I know this is a lot to read and but I would like to get across to the community not to DRINK AND DRIVE!!! Jeremy isn’t the first friend I have lost to drinking and driving but by far is the closest one to me.

I would really appreciate it if you guys could cover this story for me! If there is anymore information that you need please feel free to contact me. Attached is a picture of Jeremy and his son Dylan, one of Jeremy at his sisters wedding a month before his death, and another picture of his father, who recently passed away, looking off the overpass onto I-5 where you can see the spray paint marks where the car landed.

Thank you so much for taking time out to read this. I really appreciate it!

Man dies, woman injured in crash off overpass into I-5

By Heather Woodward

The Olympian

OLYMPIA - A 26-year-old Lacey man died early this morning when the car he was riding in crashed down onto Interstate 5 from the Eastside Street Southeast overpass, the Washington State Patrol reported.

The incident occurred at 2:02 a.m. today when a 2002 Honda Civic driven by 21-year-old Kaylin Burgett, of Lacey, failed to negotiate a right turn from eastbound Wheeler Street onto northbound Eastside Street Southeast, the patrol reported.

Witnesses said Burgett was traveling at a high rate of speed when she came off Wheeler and was attempting to make a right turn onto Eastside, the patrol reported. She struck the curb and sidewalk on the southbound side of Eastside. The vehicle then vaulted into the air, over the guardrail and landed on its top about 30 feet below onto the northbound lanes if I-5, the patrol reported.

Jeremy Cole, the passenger in the vehicle, died at the scene, and Burgett was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, where she is in critical condition.

The exact cause of the collision is still under investigation but alcohol is not suspected, the patrol reported.

This is another story……….

On Tuesday, Burgett, 22, was arrested on a charge of vehicular homicide in connection with the Sept. 23 crash that killed Jeremy Cole. Burgett, who was driving Cole's car at the time of the early morning crash, vaulted over a guardrail on Eastside Street in Olympia, landing upside down on Interstate 5.

A coroner's report states that emergency workers who responded to the crash detected a strong smell of alcohol coming from the car, but the State Patrol has contended the responding officer did not have probable cause to take a blood sample from Burgett at the time to see whether she was legally drunk.

Jeremy Cole's father, Joe Cole, has sharply criticized State Patrol for not testing Burgett for alcohol immediately, and for taking more than six months to complete its investigation. But on Tuesday Cole said he realizes the investigation was exhaustive and comprehensive.

"Now that I've seen the report, I have better understanding of why it took six months," Cole said. "The report's four times more pages than the average felony arrest report. It's over 1,000 pages long."

The certificate of probable cause filed Monday in Thurston County Superior Court indicates Burgett was intoxicated while she was drinking alcohol at a Lacey bar, Pints & Quarts, before the crash.

Another bar patron described Burgett as "getting a little loopy," the probable cause certificate states.

Other witnesses quoted in the report describe Burgett's level of intoxication at Pints & Quarts that night as "not '... completely ... obliterated to where she was puking ... she was having a good time.' "

The bartender at Pints & Quarts told her interviewer that "it wasn't like she was just on a mission to get wasted."

The server also recalled that the defendant "seemed fine" when she ordered up drinks at last call approximately 1:30 a.m. and paid her tab."

Burgett could not be reached for comment Tuesday night. Burgett was released from the Thurston County Jail after her arrest Tuesday after someone posted her $50,000 bail, a jail official said.

According to court papers, Burgett has told State Patrol Det. Juli Mitchell that "she recalled nothing after picking up the victim. She did however acknowledge 'attending' Pints & Quarts for 'a short period' during which she had 'maybe two drinks.' "

Pints & Quarts co-owner Scott McKinney said Tuesday that the bar has given State Patrol Burgett's Visa card report from that night, which indicates she had two drinks. "We turned in exactly what she had to drink at the bar," he said.

The bar cooperated with State Patrol's investigation, he added. "Whatever State Patrol wanted, we supplied them with," McKinney said.

New details about the crash have emerged in the court papers that were filed Monday. A witness who saw the Honda speeding down Wheeler Street before turning onto Eastside Street estimated the Honda's speed at 60 to 65 miles per hour. State Patrol concludes, "the Honda driven by the defendant not only failed to stop at the stop sign, but was traveling at such a high rate of speed that it could not negotiate the right turn onto Eastside."

The car vaulted over the guardrail and through a fence after crossing all lanes of Eastside and striking the curb, court papers state.

Joe Cole, who was diagnosed with colon cancer in December, said he hopes the case will make people think twice about drinking and driving.

"Hopefully this is going to be something that will persuade kids not to drink and drive," he said. "I know it won't totally be the answer, but kids have to recognize that there are going to be consequences and sometimes they can be pretty severe."

Anyone with information about the case or who witnessed the crash is encouraged to contact Washington State Patrol. State Patrol's main information line is 360-586-1999.

Michelle Kirschbaum

Paymaster Financial Services

222 N. Captiol Way, Suite 108

Olympia, Wa 98501

360-753-6344

fax: 360-357-9276