DONT DRINK AND RIDE, IT'S DEADLY
by LORRI STANDLEY
(GLIDE, OREGON)
I LOVE AND MISS YOU DAVID!
THE DEATH OF DAVID WEST JAN 14, 2006
IT STARTED OFF AS ANY NORMAL FRIDAY. CHAD AND KYLE DAVID'S BEST FRIENDS CAME OVER TO DAVE'S HOUSE TO SEE IF DAVE WANTED TO GO SHOOTING UP IN THE HILLS. OF COURSE HE DID, ANYTHING TO GET OUT OF THE HOUSE AND AWAY FROM HIS WIFE FOR THE DAY. SO CHAD, KYLE AND MY BROTHER DAVID WENT UP IN THE HILLS. UNFORTUNATELY WHEN THE GOOD O'L BOY'S GO UP INTO THE HILLS IT USUALLY MEANS THAT THEY TAKE BEER WITH THEM. THIS TIME WAS NO DIFFERENT. THE GUY'S LEFT AT 12:00 NOON. CHAD HAD TO WORK THE FOLLOWING DAY SO THEY PLANNED ON BEING BACK BY 5PM. CHAD'S ALTERNATOR STARTED TO GO OUT AND DAVID BEING IN THE FRONT SEAT HAD TO HOLD A SPOT LIGHT OUT THE WINDOW SO CHAD COULD SEE. YOU SEE DAVID HATED THE BACK SEAT. DAVE AND KYLE EVEN ARGUED ABOUT IT BUT DAVID WON. IT IS JAN AND WE LIVE IN OREGON SO IT'S RAINING PRETTY GOOD. DAVID IS SOAKED NOT REALLY HAVING ALL THAT MUCH FUN. STILL HE HOLDS THE LIGHT TO SEE, THEY MADE IT TO A FRIENDS HOUSE WHERE CHAD FIXED THE ALTERNATOR , TO SOME DEGREE, ENOUGH TO GET THEM BACK TO CHAD'S PARENTS HOUSE WHICH IS WHERE CHAD LIVES. I DON'T REALLY KNOW ALLOT ABOUT WHAT WENT ON AT THE HOUSE, I WAS NOT THERE. KYLE REMEMBERS GETTING INTO THE HOT TUB W/ CHAD, NOT TO SURE AT THIS POINT WERE MY BROTHER IS, MAYBE IN THE HOUSE. HE WAS SOAKING WET FROM THE RIDE HOME. AARON IS CHAD'S LITTLE BROTHER NOT AS IN BABY BUT JUST A COUPLE YRS YOUNGER, 27 TO BE EXACT. AARON AND HIS GIRLFRIEND HAD RECENTLY MOVED BACK IN THE GILBERT HOME ( THAT IS CHAD'S LAST NAME AS WELL AS AARON). DEANNA GILBERT THE MOM HAD RECENTLY DROPPED A RESTRAINING ORDER AGAINST AARON. AARON HAS A BAD DRUG PROBLEM, HE LIKES TO USE METH. I GUESS AARON WAS JONESING FOR MONEY AND DRUGS SO HE HELD HIS MOTHER AT GUN POINT UNTIL HIS YOUNGER SISTER (MANDY) WENT TO THE ATM AND GOT HIM THE MONEY HE NEEDED, THAT WAS IN JUNE OF 2005. LIKE I SAID DEANNA DROPPED THE RESTRAINING ORDER IN LATE NOVEMBER OF 2005. I GUESS AARON TALKED HER INTO IT. AARON SAID HE WAS CLEAN AND SOBER. NEEDLESS TO SAY HE WAS NOT SOBER. I'M FILLING IN HERE THE BEST I CAN FROM WHAT KYLE REMEMBERS, KYLE AND CHAD GOT OUT OF THE HOT TUB AND WENT INSIDE, REMEMBER THEY HAVE BEEN DRINKING SINCE AROUND NOON. AT AROUND 11:30 PM SOME FRIENDS OF AARON'S SHOW UP WANTING TO GO TO THE LOCAL BAR IN GLIDE, OUR HOME TOWN. AARON IS ALL FOR IT, CHAD SAY'S NO. I GUESS MY BROTHER WANTED TO GO SO HE GOT IN THE FRONT SEAT WITH AARON. KYLE COMES RUNNING OUT AND ALSO WANTS TO GO. KYLE RUNS TO THE FRIENDS CAR BUT IT IS TOO FULL, THEY TELL KYLE TO GO GET IN WITH AARON. SO NOW DAVE AND KYLE ARGUE OVER THE FRONT SEAT AGAIN, IF ONLY DAVID WAS SOBER HE WOULD NOT OF GONE IF HE COULDN'T HAVE THE FRONT SEAT, KYLE WINS. DAVID GETS OUT AND IN THE BACK SEAT. AARON'S FRIENDS DRIVE OUT FIRST, THEY GET ABOUT ONE MILE DOWN THE ROAD WHEN AARON'S HONDA ACCORD PASSES THEM AT VERY HIGH SPEEDS. AARON GETS TO THE STOP SIGN AND FLIES RIGHT THRU IT, THEN DOES A 360 IN THE MIDDLE OF THE FOUR LANE HWY. KYLE GETS SCARED AND TELLS AARON TO SLOW DOWN, SO DOES DAVID. AARON IS NOW HEADING TOWARDS THE TAVERN, ABOUT 7 MILES FROM HIS HOUSE. HE LETS HIS FRIENDS CAR PASS HIM ONLY TO PASS THE FRIENDS CAR AGAIN WITH HEADLIGHT OUT THIS TIME AND GOING AT LEAST 80 MPH, ACCORDING TO TESTIMONY AT THE TRIAL. AARON IS NOW IN THE LEAD AGAIN GOING 80 MPH PLUS, IT'S POURING DOWN RAIN. THE ROADS ARE COVERED IN WATER, WHILE MESSING AROUND GOING IN THE ON COMING TRAFFIC AND THEN BACK TO HIS LANE HE HITS THE GRAVEL AND HYDROPLANES. AT THIS POINT HE IS TURNING HIS HEADLIGHTS BACK ON, BUT OVER CORRECTS AND FLIES 5 FEET OFF THE HWY INTO THE DITCH ON THE RIVER SIDE OF THE ROAD, HE KEEPS THE CAR STRAIGHT FOR OVER 60 FEET. FOR WHAT EVER REASON AARON TURNS HIS CAR SLIGHTLY BACK TOWARD THE RIVER AND SLIDES INTO AN OLD GROWTH OAK TREE, AT THIS POINT IT'S ONLY HIS BUMPER THAT IS CONNECTING TO THE TREE, BUT WITH THE RATE OF SPEED AND FORCE THE CAR TURNS EVEN MORE TOWARDS THE RIVER WHICH THROWS THE CAR SIDEWAYS SO THAT THE PASSENGER SIDE IS NOW HITTING THE SECOND OLD GROWTH OAK TREE, THIS IS THE KILL FOR MY BROTHER, IT LITERALLY SHEARED THE ROOF OF THE HONDA OFF THE CAR. MY BROTHER DAVID FLIES FORWARD INTO KYLE'S FRONT PASSENGER SEAT BREAKING THE SEAT AND PUSHING THE SEAT FORWARD. AT THIS TIME MY BROTHER DAVID AND KYLE ARE EJECTED AT THE SAME TIME, MY BROTHERS BODY ACTUALLY PROTECTS KYLE'S BODY AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE, THE CAR STILL IN THE AIR TURNS ONE MORE TIME DOING ANOTHER COMPLETE 360 AT THIS TIME AARON IS THROWN OUT INTO THE ROAD AND THE CAR COMES TO A STOP IN SOME HEAVY BRUSH AND SHRUBS. THE CAR IS UNWRECKIGNISEABLE. THEY SAY MY BROTHER WAS KILLED ON IMPACT, HIS INJURY'S SO SEVERE THAT HIS SKULL CRACKED LIKE AN EASTER EGG, PART OF HIS BRAINS ACTUALLY CAME OUT, HE ALSO HAD A VERY BROKEN NECK. FOR HIS INJURIES THAT IS WHAT THEY WERE. KYLE HAD SEVERAL SERIOUS CUTS ON HIS FACE FROM THE WINDOW HE HAD OVER 100 STITCHES HIS EAR WAS TORN OFF AND HIS NECK WAS ALSO BROKEN. AS FOR AARON WELL HE HAD BOTH OF HIS ELBOWS BROKEN, BONES OUT AND ALL, HE HAD INTERNAL INJURIES FROM HITTING THE STEERING WHEEL INCLUDING A STEERING WHEEL IMPRINT ON HIS CHEST. HE HAD TO BE LIFE FLIGHTED TO PORTLAND OR. I THINK IT WAS MORE OF A REQUEST FROM AARON'S PARENTS THEN A LIFE THREATING THREAT TO AARON'S LIFE. YOU SEE THAT VERY NIGHT THAT AARON KILLED MY BROTHER DAVID, AARON'S PARENTS ALREADY STARTED SAYING DAVID WAS DRIVING. ONCE THE CORONERS REPORT CAME OUT THE GILBERT FAMILY THEN PLACED THE BLAME ON KYLE AS THE DRIVER.. THIS WAS AARON'S FOURTH (4) DUII. AARON WAS OUT ON BAIL FROM WHEN HE HELD HIS MOTHER AT GUN POINT WHEN HE KILLED DAVID. AARON HAS A RAP SHEET AS LONG AS MY LEG, NO JOKE, MOSTLY FELONIES. AARON CLAIMED HE COULD NOT REMEMBER WHO WAS DRIVING. THE NIGHT THAT IT HAPPENED KYLE WAS TOO DRUNK AND INJURED TO SPEAK TO THE POLICE. AARON'S BAC WAS .24 KYLE'S BAC WAS.29 AND MY BROTHER'S BAC WAS .14 THE LEAST DRUNK, I'M NOT JUST SAYING THAT BECAUSE HE WAS MY BROTHER EITHER.. THERE IS NO EXCUSE WHAT SO EVER FOR DRUNK DRIVING, AND WE ALL LEARNED THAT IT DOESN'T PAY TO DRINK AND RIDE EITHER. IT IS JUST AS DEADLY.
