Dawn (my wife) shares this note with everyone who knew our son Kyle.
Kyle was killed as most of you know, by a boy who was out with his friends. A lot of information has been out there but not all of the information has been correct. This is what I can tell you I hope it gives some closure to some of the people who knew and loved Kyle.
Mr. Yu is a 20 year old boy who was in college at the time of the accident, after he hit and killed Kyle he fled and then later turned himself into the police. Since that time Mr. Yu has taken full responsibility of his actions and has never denied the fact that he was at fault.
I was in Taiwan last month for the guilty verdict and I can tell you it was a painful experience. Gary and I had to do a lot of soul searching to get over the anger that goes along with this kind of nightmare. We are forever changed as a family and as people. I was not sure what I was gonna do when I saw Mr. Yu again. It had been about 18 months since I last saw him. I had no idea on what I was gonna do in that courtroom, what was the right thing; what would Kyle want me to do? I always wanted to believe that I was a kind and fair person but was I able to get past my own anger and do what my children and Kyle wanted me to do? Did I have the guts? Grief is a funny thing once you get past the anger you have to deal with the loss and then the day to day living without the person who so much was your life. Time is a great healer and with that Gary, Aeric , Jacob and myself believed in our hearts that no one was gonna make this out without a lot of scars. We felt that Mr. Yu took full responsibility and was in truth very sorry for what he had done. You look at someone and have to decide if the person you are looking at is indeed sorry. I believed that in my heart he was.
Gary and I asked the court not to send Mr. Yu to jail that it would serve no real purpose, and truth be told I didn’t want to be responsible for another life. This decision was not popular for some and others wanted something more, but I can tell you we did not come to this decision lightly. I have cried many nights and in the end it came down to what Kyle would have wanted. I have to conduct myself in the manner in which I raised him to be and I saw him saying to me mom let it go it was an accident. With that in mind that is how we came to the decision we did.
Mr. Yu could of gotten 6- 10 years in prison but the court ruling is as such Mr. Yu will serve 1 year in prison and 5 years probation. He has to pay Gary and I a sum of money that will take him some time. Even though we asked the judge for no jail time she felt that carelessness of the crime some time had to be served. Due to the fact that Mr. Yu has taken responsibility from the beginning he was given a lighter sentence. I am relieved that I didn’t have to make that decision and the court has done that for us. We are at peace with the verdict and hope this answer’s the so many questions to a long nightmare.
When I left Taiwan with the boys I could not get out fast enough all that I felt was that this country has taken the best part of our lives. I had to return for court and I cried when I left the states and I cried when I arrived, but through the fear and pain came back all the great memories and the so many people who loved us and Kyle Chechen treated me like a returning queen. Seeing all the people who where so much a part of our lives was good for my soul. It made me remember why Kyle loved this place so much.
As Gary gets ready to finish his 91/2 years in Taiwan and move home to me and the boys, I know one day we will return because Kyle’s spirit is their. To all of you who help support us and loved Kyle keep surfing cause he is watching…
Dawn
Dawn and I miss Kyle everyday and thank all of our friends who supported us during this very difficult time. We where able to get some closure with the court’s decision but as any parent who loses a child, the pain of that loss never goes away.
