Sam Abate’s father sent a note yesterday last week with an update on how Sam is doing. Sam is the cyclist who was injured in a hit-and-run crash on Swan road in May.
Here’s what William had to say:
Had dinner with Sam last night and I was so amazed by how far he has progressed in just 144 days!
It seemed like only yesterday that we walked in on him in the Trauma ICU at UMC not sure if he would even live.
I am happy to report that Sam is attending classes at the U of A half-time. He is still plagued with neck and head pain, but along with medication and intensive physical therapy he continues to make a remarkable recovery. This week he started jogging on the treadmill at physical therapy which is incredible in itself, considering the crushing fracture of his Right Fibula and Tibia, and the laxity of his Right Knee and Ankle.
Sam has always been a very determined young man, and I think that he realized what his capacities were early on. Sam chose to focus on himself and his recovery since May 20th and the outcome is truly astonishing. Sam decided not to involve himself with prosecution of the person that hit him and left him on the side of the road (and has left that for me). His decision to utilize all of his energy to recover and not be bothered with things that seemed removed from his locus of control was a wise decision.
Sam mentioned that his outlook on life in general has improved as a result of his near-death injuries. Sam is getting reacquainted with his music and whether or not Sam will resume cycling is still up in the air.
The trial for Ms. Allin, the accused, is set for May 1st, 2012. And she remains at the Pima County Jail since May 24th…
I have just started working on putting together a non-profit to assist people that have been injured in hit and run mishaps where the criminal has no insurance or financial means to compensate his/her victim.
For anyone interested in helping out we have two accounts available:
Well Fargo Banks, The Samuel Abate Fund
And
First Credit Union, Sam’s Recovery Fund 14322551Be Safe,
Bill Abate
How can someone be in jail for an entire year without a trial? What if she’s innocent, does she get that year back? Good to hear Sam is doing well.
Also, don’t get mad at me for the jail comment. Just sayin’, doesn’t that seem like a long time? Why hasn’t she been to trial yet? Taking it off of time served only works if she’s guilty, but if she’s not then what?
It sounds like Sam’s a really sharp guy. I wish him all the best.
My thoughts are with both Sam and Abby, it is really a terrible situation that any of us could find ourselves in… on either side of the car.
That’s a good question, Frank. I think that w/ this case, the evidence is pretty certain and the risk of flight is thought to be high. If I recall, they found Sam’s DNA on the accused’s broken windshield. I think they also have eye witnesses who identified the accused as the driver who hit Sam. She also fled the scene, AND solicited someone to replace the windshield, thus attempted to destroy evidence. This is my understanding of the events, but I may not be right on all the details. If I’m wrong on any or all items, I hope someone will correct me.
In the good ol’ US of A we’re all presumed innocent until proven guilty. This is a good thing. Right now she’s innocent, but her case isn’t looking good for her . . .
Regarding why she’s in jail – it could be that bail was set so high that neither she nor her family could pay it. In this case, she gets to sit in jail in lieu of paying bail. Another scenario could be bail was denied due to her being a flight risk, she could be a danger to herself or society, or some other reason.
I don’t know specifically, but I bet her bail was through the roof.
Yes, people have a right to a “speedy” trial – it could be a crazy back log of hearings has set hers over a year out.
Reef, I agree that any of us could hit someone while driving a car. If I were to do that, it would haunt me the rest of my life. In this situation here, the accused didn’t just make a mistake, it seems she was reckless. She then left the scene w/ a severly injured person laying on the ground. She did not get a guilty conscience and come back to the scene as some would do after leaving. Nor did she turn herself in to the police after the story ran in the news. No, instead she tried to destroy evidence that would incriminate her. I see a person who would drive in a very hazardous fashion, almost destroy someone and then do everything she could to avoid taking responsibility for it. Yes, my heart goes out to her, but not because she is suffering in jail, but because she acted so selfishly and never at any point did she do the right thing. My heart wants her to fell horrible about what she did to Sam, admit it in court, apologize for it, and pay restitution to Sam for as long as it takes. Until she does those things, she is in need of a heart transplant.
Well, they’re going after Abigal Allin on tampering with evidence (ARS 13-2809), probably their strongest hand to get some kind of conviction.
No one can say that Edward Gomez Nava has been tried in the media: this was an actual death for the victim, Brack, an older man, apparently somewhat socially isolated and distant (Southeast side) from the UA and the relentlessly fascinating UA/Mountain corridor/Huckleberry Loop/downtown thing. No coverage after the initial frenzy.
Edward Gomez Nava is charged with 13-1104, a form of homicide.
Stay tuned on that one?
A couple of months ago I tried, unsuccessfully, to donate to the fund at Wells Fargo (the one at Campbell and Glenn). They couldn’t find the fund and gave me no recourse to donate to it. I hope that problem has been resolved.
There are two kinds of defendants, those who can bond and those who cannot. They have widely divergening qualities of justice.
Best wishes for Sam and his family. I can only imagine the struggle of recovering from a trauma of this sort. Nobody deserves to have their life upended and altered like this.
Hmm.. interesting answers. I agree that she is a flight risk. Maybe the bond being too high was the reason she’s still in there.
Bond is set at $75000. http://www.pimasheriff.org/jail-info/
Too high? Did you see the pictures of Sam while he was on life support? If the accused had inflicted these injuries with a baseball bat instead of a car, bail wouldn’t even be an option…
It is also important to remember that the accused was driving with a suspended license and NO INSURANCE!
Additionally, “Speedy trial” is a relative term. Apparently there are many people waiting their turn ahead of Ms. Allin.
If the DA did not think that there was a significant amount of evidence to support the charges, she would not be in jail.
Witnesses have the accused driving erratically, weaving in and out of traffic and running a red-light moments before hitting Sam.
Because she did not stop at the scene (like a good citizen), we will never know if she was drunk or high or both…
When all is said and done, even if she is charged restitution, she can simply file bankruptcy and leave Sam and his family to finish cleaning up her mess!