December 03, 2010 | 01:25 PM The Walworth County District Attorney's Office filed charges Friday afternoon against Jeremy C. Dees for the Nov. 16 crash that killed 9-year-old Eastview Elementary School student Carter Dorwin and injured his mother and brother.
Dees, 33, appeared in Walworth County Circuit Court Friday afternoon via closed circuit television. He was in an orange jail jumpsuit. He still has a brace on his neck and was hunched over for much of his 5-minute appearance.
According to the complaint, Dees is being charged with homicide by negligent operation of a vehicle and two counts of reckless driving causing injury.
The homicide count is a felony and, if convicted, Dees may be fined not more than $25,000 or imprisoned not more than 10 years. The misdemeanor charges carry each between a $300 and $2,000 fine and between 30 days and a year in prison.
According to the complaint, Dees was on his way back to his home in Elkhorn after going to church in Lake Geneva that morning. It was about 7 a.m. and the Dorwin family was on their way to school in Lake Geneva.
Dees' green jeep was on Highway H at an estimated 75 to 80 mph, according to a witness cited in the complaint. The witness also stated that Dees' vehicle left the roadway onto the shoulder and then continued on Highway H.
Nicole Dorwin, Carter's mother, said Dees' vehicle was completely driving in her lane and was swerving.
According to the complaint, Dees told police after he went to the church, he was returning to Elkhorn, but he did not remember anything until he awoke in the hospital.
Police initially stated that "alcohol may have been a factor." However, a blood test following the crash showed there was no alcohol in Dees.
Read more about this story and many others in next week's Regional News.
I think the charges are just. I think it's unfair how he was portrayed by the media. He made a terrible mistake. I highly doubt, and forgive me for submitting to the beast of assumption, but I do highly doubt he's sitting in jail thinking "hooray, a beautiful young man is dead because of me". He will live with that for the rest of his life. I hope Carter's family is able to heal. I hope they can forgive him as a human being. I hope he is able to forgive himself. Above all, I hope we as a community learn from all of this so that things like this can be prevented in the future. It's easy to get into the witch hunt mentality and look for a single point to focus our hurt and anger on. However it's much more difficult, yet much more valuable, to observe the bigger picture and recognize that so much more contributed to this tragedy than a single individuals choices. Look at those around you that are having problems with drugs, alcohal AND depression. Do what you can to guide them. Open your hearts and minds to help in as many ways as you can. This, among a few personal tragedies of my own, has opened my eyes, mind and heart to change myself to not be so centered on my own problems, and realize I will feel better about myself if I am there for others. I only hope it has done the same for others. Carter is in my prayers. His family is in my prayers. Jeremy is, also, in my prayers.
I understand that the family and friends of Jeremy Dees feel somewhat vindicated at this point, knowing that Dee's blood alcohol level came back at zero. Blaming the police for reporting to the media that alcohol "May" have been a factor in the crash, is, in my opinion, unfair. The officers at the scene had reason to believe alcohol was a factor, and they then used the portable breathalizer WHICH REGISTERED a 0.03. While we now know this was not accurate, the results of this test, coupled with Dee's past history, certainly allows one to believe that alcohol "May" have been a factor. With that being said, we now know alcohol was NOT a factor. What WAS the factor? For the family and friends of Carter Dorwin, this unanswered question looms loudly in the back of our minds. What was the reason that Carter was taken so suddenly and so horrifically from us? Could the blood tests show the use of illegal drugs? It is my understanding that some of the newer drugs, like the synthetic marijuana, doesn't even show in blood tests. Were there some malfunctions with Dee's vehicle? Given the age of his SUV, there is no computer available to go back to to check what happened before the crash. Why was Dee's at the church before this happened? Did this crash, God forbid, happen as a result of the "Demons" Dees refers to that haunt him in his blog? Was he feeling so despondant that he was suicidal? Unfortunately, Dees has no memory of anything leading up to the crash. These answers may go unanswered forever. But whatever happened in the hours, minutes, and seconds leading up to the crash, resulted in the death of a little boy that held such promise in his life. A little boy who was loved by so many and had so much potential. We, Carter's family and friends, know Carter is in Heaven, a place so much more wonderful than here, that we can never imagine. He is happy. It is just those of us who love him who are left behind to wonder and to ask these questions. Please--if you can supply any answers to help this investigation, contact the Walworth County Sherriff's office. While knowing what happened that fateful morning won't bring Carter back, having some answers can provide a grieving family some peace.
Why would someone who supposedly just left church at 7am would be speeding between 75 and 80 mph to get home and be in the other lane and swerving off the road and back on it again. All be it in the opposite lane of traffic. This was witnessed by the mother of the little boy and someone else. They seem to have ruled out alcohol but it is still interesting that a 0.03 reading was received at the scene. The driver of the car says he did not remember anything of the tragedy before he woke up in the hospital. Wait to see the toxicology report for drugs. If it was vehicle malfunction we would of heard about that by now I would think. I would like to know the reason for speeding. I don't know many who do when they leave church. Also I drive past the scene everyday and I don't see any skid marks to show an attempt to try and slow down or stop. So, what is the story there. I would think we would see a long skid mark or many small ones. All I see are just painted rings at least 10-15 of them.
It's not a 'mistake' to be driving 70-80 mph down a road, which is marked 45 mph. He was speeding and driving erratically for some reason only known to him. He didn't 'mistakenly' put his foot on the pedal to maintain that speed and not apply his brakes.... And I agree with the previous comments, his BAC at the scene of the accident did in fact read positive for alcohol. He may not have been fully impaired, but surely he was in some way or form.
Looking for Answers
Lake Geneva
December 08, 2010 | 12:05 PM
I would love to know how they could have given a man that was critically injured a breathalyzer test. Something doesn't seem right with this picture. I mean, he was in critical condition, and was taken to Froedert, instead of Lakeland or Mercy Janesville, which indicates that his injuries were quite severe. So doesn't anyone else wonder how they could have administered a breathalyzer test? And as for the reconstruction of the accident, good luck with that - Walworth County stinks at those. I've seen it first hand with a couple of reports. I'm sorry, it is so tragic that a little boy died, but I still wonder how they could have held him in jail for so long before officially charging him with anything, and even now, not knowing if it was a malfunction of the car, or a medical issue that caused the accident - like blacking out or a seizure, it is amazing that they have already charged him with something. I guess that's Walworth County for you. Regular laws don't apply, we just make them up as they go.
The older BREAKING story about Jeremy Dees and the fatal car accident is still on the front page under the Geneva-Linn tab. The comments are still here.
Lisa the Editor
Lake Geneva
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