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Cady, 11, was killed on Highway 83, Mile Marker 30.5 15 miles north of Seeley Lake, Montana, when a one-handed driver Janie McNair, of Libby, Montana, crossed the center line into oncoming traffic and caused a fatal head-on collision. McNair was found 100% responsible for the crash but has NEVER been charged or even given a traffic citation.
McNair has a driver's license restriction, which allows her to drive only if she drives a handicapped-equipped vehicle. She was NOT driving a handicapped-equipped vehicle when she caused the crash going by her own admission going at least 25 mph over the posted recommended 45 mph speed limit on the blind, hairpin curve where she caused the crash. She also is an insulin-dependent diabetic, whose husband allegedly said she had "just a little diabetic reaction" when she caused the crash. The southbound car in which Cady was a passenger was catapulted to face the opposite direction and continued to spin from the force of the impact of McNair's vehicle almost 270 degrees to nearly face Lake Summit. McNair's northbound vehicle was then struck by the next southbound vehicle. Cady killed just two weeks before starting sixth grade at Hope Lutheran School in Idaho Falls, the two other passengers with Cady were severely injured, and four others including McNair were injured. One child killed, a three-car pile-up, seven injured, NOT ONE charge against McNair.
Cady deserved to live.
She was an innocent child.
Cady, and all who are needlessly killed as a result of another person's reckless choice to drive impaired, deserves the dignity of justice.
Missoula County prosecutors have said that if McNair had been drinking alcohol or on drugs, she would have been charged with negligent homicide by now. Missoula County prosecutors must fulfill their duty to protect the public from the NUMBER ONE KILLER OF PEOPLE OF ALL AGES FROM 2 TO 33 IN THIS COUNTRY: highway fatalities-every one of them preventable.
Unsafe highway drivers causing head-on collisions usually cause a death because the safe driver does not have time to defend himself or herself or protect innocent passengers. A preventable death results regardless of the cause of the impairment. Negligent homicide law in Montana allows prosecuting regardless of the cause of the negligence. We need prosecutors who will enforce the law regardless of the cause of death when a driver chooses to drive impaired.
Unsafe drivers can cause needless deaths for a myriad of reasons including alcohol, drugs, falling asleep at the wheel, having a diabetic reaction, not driving a handicapped-equipped car, watching a movie in the car, emotional trauma, dementia, too old, being medically unfit, or driving without corrective lenses when they are required to drive.
NOT FIT? DON'T DRIVE. It's that simple.
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More About Cady Tucker
Cathryn Claire Rose "Cady" Tucker was born on February 16, 1991, in Akron, Ohio. Cady was a student at Hope Lutheran in kindergarten from 1996 to 1997 and in fourth and fifth grade from 2000 to 2002. Cady attended the Snake River Montessori School in Idaho Falls for first, second, and third grades. In kindergarten, Cady's teacher was Miss Paula Meyer, her fourth grade teacher was Mrs. Joelle Holmquist, and her fifth grade teacher was Ms. Jessie Lazer.
A voracious reader and an artist, Cady could be observed with either a book or sketch pad in hand. Not surprisingly, her favorite subjects in school were reading and art, although spelling and science weren't far behind. Anybody who knew Cady also knew she had a great sense of humor and was a "tad" dramatic. She loved Hope's operettas and was in three of them: Huckleberry Finn, Rumpelstilskin, and Giddyup Get Along Gideon. In 2002, Cady was pleased in fifth grade to have garnered the most Accelerated Reader Program points of any student at Hope.
But of all Cady's school activities, she loved the most competing for Hope at the annual Track Monday meet at Grace Lutheran in Pocatello. The last time Cady competed, in 2002, she was extremely proud of winning both her sprint competitions, the 50- and 100-meter dashes, being the anchor for the fifth grade girls' 4 x 50 meter relay, and placing first among Hope girls for the long jump and second for the softball throw.
In third grade, Cady began taking classical guitar lessons from Barbara Wayne in Idaho Falls, which she loved. She played beautifully with innocent passion. Cady played at several of Ms. Wayne's student recitals, and her most 2002 recital repertoire included Andante, and Ancien Tambours. Ms. Wayne composed the classical guitar solo Cady's Dance in her honor.
Cady would have been in Mr. Jim Oloff's sixth-grade class at Hope for the 2002-03 school year but two weeks before school was to start on August 15, 2002, Cady was killed in a car accident when a negligent driver crossed the center line.
In 2004, Live in Wonder, a show of Cady's abundant artwork was held at the Willard Arts Center. Photographs of Cady, and a sampling of her artwork including Live in Wonder, the Rare Earth Unicorns, the Fairy, and Betty Cooper (from the Archie comic book series) and photographs of the art show are provided below.
Cady, we love and miss you so very much, and always, always will.
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Photographs of Cady
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Cady's Artwork
Live In Wonder
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Stardust, Sunbeam, Valentine
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Fairy
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Betty Cooper
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Live in Wonder: The Art of Cady Tucker at the Willard Arts Center, Idaho Falls,
October 6th - November 7th, 2004
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