Parents Of Killed U Of M Band Member Get Apology In Court
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) - The parents of a U of M band member killed on his motorcycle say they got an apology in court Wednesday. The apology came from the teenager who crashed into him.
Robert Brau played in the University of Minnesota's marching band. He was killed last August in Wright County after a teen driver crossed the center line and hit him.
Brau's family attorney, Gregory Anderson, said the teen was charged with misdemeanor careless driving.
Early Wednesday, Brau's family and friends showed up to the courtroom to talk about what he meant to them.
More than a dozen friends and family members went to court with the Braus.
"The support didn't start today -- it started immediately," Terry Brau, Robert's father, said. "We're coping because of that."
Robert was their only child.
"It has changed our future dramatically," Donna Brau, Robert's mother, said. "There will be no weddings, there will be no grandchildren. We'll just share in everybody else's lives like we did before he was born, I guess."
Robert's early years were filled with music, his mother said.
"At 5 years old he started playing piano, then he learned trumpet, cello, French horn, mellophone, and then he took up guitar on his own," she said.
He marched to a beat from then on, landing a spot in U's brass section, playing the mellophone.
"It was his away-from-home family," Terry said.
His bandmates wore his initials on their jerseys, and dedicated their season to his memory. Those are the things the Braus like to think about.
"I try not to look in the future at all," Brau's mother said. "It's much easier to look back."
There is one part of the future they're focused on: asking lawmakers to make careless driving penalties stiffer.
"To match the penalties for drunk driving," Donna said. "It is the same, and in this case it has ended in a very, very, very bad way
One way Robert's music will live on is through others. They've already given out a scholarship in his name to, of course, a band student.
Robert's parents want to share this website about distracted driving.