By Sarah Junkin
The Eagle
A Cochrane man who has more than a month to wait before hearing the verdict in his manslaughter trial is using the time to reflect on the past year.
After his cement truck crashed into a stationary car stopped at a busy south Calgary intersection more than a year ago, Daniel Tschetter was charged with five counts of manslaughter, five counts of criminal negligence causing death, and one count of attempting to obstruct justice.
His seven-day trial wrapped up March 17. Provincial court Judge Bruce Fraser is expected to deliver his verdict May 7.
In the meantime, Tschetter, who has lived in Cochrane for a decade and is married with three grown children, says he’s angry about the way he’s been portrayed in the media.
“The media is so biased, it’s sickening,” he said, calling some television news reporters that covered his trial “absolutely dishonest from head to toe. They’re cruel and ruthless as anything.”
Tschetter, who called this reporter March 19, also said he’s frustrated not to have had more of a voice throughout his trial, for which he again blames the media.
“I wanted to talk to (the victims’ families) from day one through the media, but lawyers said, ‘They will misquote you and bury you.’ I’d love to sit down with them and pour my heart out.”
Killed in the December 2007 collision on Macleod Trail South and 194th Ave. were Christopher Gautreau, 41, his daughters Kiarra, 6, and Alexia, 9, his fiance Melaina Hovdebo, 33, and her 16-month-old son, Zachary Morrison.
“The families have shown more dignity and more character than the news media can dream of,” said the trucker March 19. “But you guys have all the power. If you write that a cat can have puppies, people will believe it. You will do anything to make a story.”
Specifically Tschetter is angry about the way the news media described a 12th charge that was dropped by the Crown. The charge, refusing to provide a breath sample, was stayed due to lack of evidence, according to prosecutor Jonathan Hak.
“The media is so biased,” Tschetter said. “They say I refused to give a breath sample. I blew in nine times, with God as my witness. I was not intoxicated, but our media is corrupt.”
But Hak explained the issue of the breath sample was not debated in court precisely because the charge was dropped.
“He doesn’t get to have it both ways,” he said of Tschetter. “He’s the one that made the application to have the charge dropped.”
Had he not, added Hak, the Cochrane resident would have been able to tell his story on the stand.
Still, Tschetter is not minimizing the seriousness of the devastation caused by his cement truck when he failed to see a red light, or any of the posted warnings as he approached the busy intersection.
“The first month, I was glad I was locked up,” he said. “I was in so much pain I wanted to die.”
The former member of a Hutterite colony added he was barely able to eat during those first dark days after the accident.
“If anyone should have an ulcer it should be me.”
Finally last spring, released on bail, and building a defence along with legal counsel Balfour Der, Tschetter said he found solace in a loving family, his faith, and the Cochrane community.
“The people of Cochrane have been absolutely outstanding,” he said. “I’ve not even had any bad body language from them. I would not raise my kids anywhere in Canada but Cochrane, and that’s a fact.”
In particular, the congregation of the Bow Valley Baptist Church has been especially compassionate, Tschetter said.
“They’ve been essential at keeping my sanity. There’s a real spirituality going on at Bow Valley Baptist Church.”
But the months since the collision have taken their toll on his immediate family.
“Some days you get fatigued and a little weak,” Tschetter said, adding prayer and reading have helped.
“And my wife has been absolutely priceless,” he said of Marie Tschetter. “I could not wish for a better wife or daughter, or in-laws.”
Marie and all three of the couple’s children were present in the courtroom during the seven-day trial.
While waiting for the judge to make a decision about his future, Tschetter said he visits his grief counsellor, and prays for his family and for the families of the victims.
“I am working behind the scenes to get together with them,” he said.
And though he is cautiously optimistic about his fate, Tschetter doesn’t want to speculate on the verdict.
“I can’t say,” he said. “It’s all up to (Judge) Bruce Fraser. I hope and pray it’ll turn out the way it’s supposed to.”
And in a final nod to the journalists and newscasters who continue to cover his story, Tschetter said he’s become philosophically resigned to the fact there’s nothing he can do about the coverage.
“There’s no more hell you guys can do to me than what I’m already going through,” he said. “You’re a waste of oxygen to the brain.”
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