Accused Shooter Was Involved In Teen's Fatal '06 Accident
CRETE, Ill. (CBS) Four years ago, shooting spree suspect Brian Dorian was involved in a crash that took a teenager's life.
There are people who believe had the law been tougher on him back then he wouldn't have been able to harm the men he's accused of killing and injuring this week.
Brian Dorian's arrest opens old wounds in southwest suburban Crete. That's where the crash he was involved in happened and where Dylan Drapeau lost his life.
The young man's father spoke with CBS 2's Kristyn Hartman.
Ken Drapeau was at work when got the news about Brian Dorian. The off-duty officer convicted of speeding in the crash that took his son's life now stands accused of killing and injuring people in a shooting spree this week.
"It's a terrible thing that happened and we feel real bad for the families," the elder Drapeau said.
He understands their pain. His son, Dylan, was "every family's dream boy," he says. Friends still listen to the music the 17 year-old-wrote and played. He was a gifted pianist and artists, a smart kid with a bright future he never got to live.
The Drapeaus are on record having said they didn't think Dorian's punishment – community service and a fine -- fit what happened. Pressed about whether a harsher penalty may have prevented the crimes he is accused of this week, Ken Drapeau hesitated.
"I don't know if I wanna go into that right now," he said.
Others are less measured about what happened at July 20, 2006.
But Will County state's attorney spokesman Charles Pelkie disagrees, saying they kept the case open 18 months and filed the strictest charges possible. He says officials sympathize with Dylan's family and friends.
"At the conclusion of that thorough investigation, the evidence simply wasn't there to file reckless homicide charges," Pelkie said.
Dylan's dad sad his son probably wouldn't want people re-visiting the accident or the fallout from the court case.
"It was a tragic day, and that's not Dylan," Ken Drapeau said.
