Michigan driver whose passenger was killed by rock speaks out
The driver of the van hit by a 6 pound rock in Michigan is speaking about the deadly incident for the first time. Stephen Amthor said Kenneth White's death left him feeling angry and numb.
"I don't blame myself [for] what happened; I blame myself like I couldn't do enough," Amthor said.
Around 8:30 p.m., he was driving White, his employee, home after a day's work. They were talking about baseball in the van that was going about 70 mph when a rock suddenly smashed through the windshield.
"We were less than 5 miles from his house, and next thing I know, I'm pulled over trying to keep him from bleeding out," Amthor said.
Then came a difficult call. Amthor had to tell his own best friend, White's father, that his son was dead.
"He called my brother while sitting on the side of the road and cried and said, 'Listen, I'm so sorry, I tried to do my best and I couldn't stop him from bleeding,'" said Donald White, the victim's uncle, in tears.
White was killed by the rock, about 5 inches wide and 8 inches long, allegedly dropped from an overpass above Interstate 75.
Prosecutors say five teenagers, ages 15 to 17, were responsible. The high schoolers shuffled into a courtroom Tuesday in chains. They could face up to life in prison for second-degree murder.
All pleaded not guilty. Frank Manley represents 16-year-old Mark Sekelsky.
"What if they didn't do anything? What if they're afraid of the older kid and they're standing there, does that make them a murderer?" Manley asked.
White, a 32-year-old father of four, was declared dead on arrival at the hospital. One of his children is just 5 years old.
"I will do everything I can to see that his son is taken care of," Amthor said. "He's not going to get to grow up with a father like I did. I think that's what hurts the worst."
Amthor hopes this case will serve as a warning to other teens. He also wants the state to install nets or gates on overpasses to prevent another drive home from turning deadly.
