David Crutchfield

Submitted by Carla Shealey  of Aiken  County, SC. Carla shares with us her Victim Impact Statement read at the sentencing of the man who killed her son.

On July 14, 2000 at 5:15am I gave birth to a 7lb 1oz, 18 ¼ inch long baby boy. Who would be named David Wayne. My only son, my only child. He was such a good baby, hardly ever cried, slept through the night, and was always happy. He was the first grandchild for my mom and dad, would remain the only grandchild for four years. He was so upset when the first cousin came. That was his MawMaw and Poppy. He had a wonderfully great imagination. He could play for hours just making up stories and going on adventures. He could talk as soon as he started walking. Many people said that was not normal for a child of one year. He was so smart, the top speller in his school. He loved sports and was on the football team, number 25. He was so passionate about the things he cared about, especially football. I wasn’t allowed to talk when his favorite team, the Florida State Seminoles, were playing. It would jinx them. He had such a good sense of humor and always wanted people to laugh and pay attention to the things he said or did. He was my cautious baby. If you told him once it would hurt him, he never did it again. We have so many memories of David’s short life of just 15 years. We made sure to let him and take him to do everything within our means. When he heard my husband and I were planning a date night, he would say “Where are we going?” Of course he got to go. If he was your friend he was your best friend, very loyal and protective.

As parents you want what’s best for your children and to always keep him safe. On January 3, 2016 it all came crashing down for us. We were not there to keep him safe from the tragedy that would happen. He was staying at my mom’s that day. I thought he was there, and mom thought he was at a friend’s house a few blocks away. At 11:30pm that night we got the knock that no parent should ever get. It was the coroner asking me if David was my son. I said yes, he told me David was gone. My head was spinning and I couldn’t breathe. I remember very little after that moment. We could not go to him because the defendant never stopped, which made it a crime scene. My husband had to identify David from a cell phone picture of David laying on the side of the road. I just don’t get how a person, knowing that they hit a person could just leave them on the road like an animal. I was told David never saw it coming or felt anything as it was instant, he was hit from behind. I have to make myself believe that. I could not imagine my baby laying on the road hurting, wondering why no one came to help. Could you imagine if it your child? It was hours before we were told about the crash. It took another motorist passing by, a teenage boy, to see David and call 911.

The defendant had no driver’s license and should have never been behind the wheel of any car to begin with. My whole life was taken in an instant. I will never see David get his license to drive. I will never see him graduate. He missed his junior prom this past April. When his dad was supposed to be taking him to get a tux and flowers for his date, he couldn’t. That was taken from him.  We had to stand and watch from the side lines. He would be starting his senior year of high school this year. We should be buying a cap and gown, having pictures made, looking for colleges from all the brochures we get in the mail almost daily for David. We shouldn’t be here doing this because of the actions of a person who doesn’t seem to care or show any remorse for what he has done. I will never get to see David become a man, fall in love, get married and have children of his own. I will never get to experience the joys of being a grandmother. It was taken from me. I read something the defendant wrote on October 23, 2016. I am going to read it to you. This is his words, “I hate my son has to miss out on things because of my situation. I want to take him to the fair. I want to take him trick or treating for his first Halloween, take him to the park. It’s unfair to him. Just know daddy loves you. This won’t last forever.”

Let’s talk about fair for a moment. I will never get to talk to my David to again. I will never get to watch him play ball at the park again. I will never get say “I love you baby boy” to him again. I will never get to see him enjoy cooking again. I will never get to hold my baby boy again. That choice was selfishly taken from me. The defendant will go to jail, prayerfully, and still have the choices I don’t have. David’s MawMaw, Poppy, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends have suffered right along with us. My parents could not be in court today because of the anger my dad holds, which we all have, and the doctor telling my mom it wouldn’t be wise because of the stress. I have anxiety so bad now, I can’t be away from my husband for more than a few hours without thinking something bad has happened or will happen to him. I’ve had to get on medication just to get through the day. He has cousins who will never know the personality of David Wayne. I am asking you judge, to sentence the maximum. He is facing a possible 35 years for the two charges he has plead guilty to. If not the maximum at least half of that. Twelve and a half years for one and five for the other, a total of seventeen and a half years. We all know he will never serve the allotted time. Probation would be a slap in the face for my family and me, especially to David who was doing nothing wrong that night. He followed all the laws for a pedestrian.

David Crutchfield was just 15 years old when a driver high on marijuana and Xanax hit him as he was walking on the side of a road in Aiken, SC. On August 8, 2017  the driver was sentenced to 25 years in prison for his death.