Wednesday, August 21, 2002
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Wednesday, August 21, 2002 |
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Mother of PTC man killed in police chase finds out how much he meant to others
By JOHN
MUNFORD
Neighbors will miss Chuck Vicha's gardening talents and Christmas tree displays. Friends and acquaintances will miss his calm and gentle demeanor. But the Peachtree City man, who was killed in a wreck resulting from a police chase July 27, will be missed most by his mother, Alice. Chuck Vicha lived with his mother, taking care of her while working as an assistant manager at the Office Max in Newnan. He did most of her grocery shopping and made the coffee in the mornings, just like her husband used to. "I used to tell him that he needed to get married and get a life, that I wanted some grandchildren," Alice Vicha recalled recently. "... He was a mama's boy, but he was set in his own mind, too." The night he died, Chuck Vicha was supposed to visit the nearby Eckerd's for some "pop" and then pick up Alice for a shopping trip to Stein Mart so he could get some shirts for an impending vacation. But knowing his mother was tired, Chuck decided to let her rest at home while he made a detour to Stein Mart by himself, she said. As she examined the remains of the crushed minivan her son drove that night, Alice Vicha found the shirts Chuck had bought moments before the fatal collision when the van was struck by a suspect who was being chased by Luthersville Police. Witnesses told police Vicha had the green light when he turned left onto Ga. Highway 54 ... into the path of the speeding Ford Explorer that collided with the driver's side of his minivan. Mrs. Vicha plans to use her son's death to crusade for changes at the state level in regards to high speed police pursuits. "Our family has just been through too much, and the other families have, too," Mrs. Vicha said. "I never want another mother to go through this." Mrs. Vicha has already spoken with Gov. Roy Barnes, who offered the state's condolences for her son's death. Barnes told her he couldn't restrict police chases, but the state would try to improve its training on chase procedures and convene a committee to study the issue. Vicha told the governor she'd be glad to serve on that committee if needed. "He said he didn't want to tie the police's hands," Mrs. Vicha recalled. "I don't want him to do that. But people who know the laws should develop a better way to chase them." As she mourns her son's death, Mrs. Vicha and her family have also been rooting for one of the three children in the Ford Explorer who was seriously injured in the crash. The child, Tonisha Millens, 7, was in good condition Tuesday morning at Scottish Rite/Childrens Healthcare of Atlanta Hospital. Two other children were treated and released from the hospital for minor injuries on the night of the wreck. The suspect, Loraine McCrary, 37, of Jonesboro, was in satisfactory condition Tuesday afternoon. In addition to multiple traffic charges, she will also face criminal counts of identity theft resulting from the fraudulent documents found in her vehicle by authorities after the crash. Only now, through an outpouring of sympathy cards, is Mrs. Vicha coming to understand that she's not the only one who thought highly of her son. "So many people are using the word gentle," Mrs. Vicha said. "I knew he was a nice guy, but now I'm finding that out from everyone else."
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