Pantagraph.com | News | Family of teenager, who died at party, suing former sheriff's deputies

Note: All views and opinions expressed in reader comments are solely those of the individual submitting the comment, and not those of the Pantagraph or its staff.

HRPuffinstuff wrote on Apr 18, 2008 9:03 AM:

" Zaky: Actually, it sounds like the victim's parents are mad because the officers DIDN'T do their jobs. One officer drove by the party, triggering the "Dude it's the cops!!" panic, while the other actually went up to the house, saw the party with underage kids, and did nothing. I'm a little confused as to how the parents consider these officers to be liable for their child's death, but my point to you is: they did NOT do their jobs. Their job is to investigate a potentially illegal situation when they come upon it. These officers did not do that, they didn't do their job. But again, I still don't see how that would have contributed to their child's death - because even if the cops did do their job, it wouldn't have changed the outcome, he still would've ran. "

Shadow wrote on Apr 18, 2008 7:54 AM:

" Another parent wanting to blame someone else for their childs death. 1. You should know where your kid is. 2. Your kid should know not to go to a drinking party if he is underage 3. Your kid made the stupid decision to walk shoeless and coatless into a feild for 3 MILES at night during subzero conditions. Take some responsibility parents. This guy cant honestly feel this is the fault of the police. He is just seeing dollar signs, as disgusting as that is given the circumstances.
"

Sweetcheeks wrote on Apr 16, 2008 11:08 AM:

" Ok Jeeps, explain how these officers are at fault that this kid ran to avoid punishment. They did not cause that boy's death. They did not enforce the law but it does not make them resonsible for his death. Period. "

Jeeps wrote on Apr 15, 2008 11:06 AM:

" Sweetcheeks, Have you read the article? X officers. Livingston Cty. doesn't seem to agree with your comment. NOTHING WRONG! "

Sweetcheeks wrote on Apr 14, 2008 2:17 PM:

" I can not believe you actually think you have a right to sue the officers who did nothing wrong. I hope your entire suit gets thrown out! "

kj wrote on Apr 11, 2008 6:31 AM:

" Hmmm...as a parent I always beleived I was liable for whatever my kids did be it break a window with a baseball, etc. I actually did run out the back door of a party when I was about the same age as Travis. Fortunately the weather wasn't bad, I managed not to fall in the river and I finally made my way across town to the safety of my own home. It was stupid then, too, the police did not "raid" the house then either. I'm hear 30 years later to remember my own stupidity. My point is, Travis is the one who made the choice to run and not seek help and ultimately his parents were liable for his actions since he wasn't an adult. "

whatevercple wrote on Apr 10, 2008 11:16 PM:

" every teen child is goin to do something in there life at one point and time that is illegal,, its the thrill! Its just sad that the thrill sometimes isnt so thrilling after all. I believe that is this were my child i would be upset and wonder how all 60 kids could leave one out int he cold also. But at the same time I could not no matter how it hurts blame one or two for something my child got his self involved in that led to the cause of his own death. Alcohol effects people in different ways no one person is the same. If u think u have to party be resposable and watch after one another, but dont blame others for something not caused by ones own action. This isnt no practice life. "

Zaky wrote on Apr 10, 2008 6:34 PM:

" I understand suing the adults responsible for providing the alcohol, but what I don't understand is the lawsuit against the 2 depuites. What did they do to cause the kid to run? Investigate a party with underage drinkers? Isn't that their job? Or was there something I missed? "

Parent of TEENS wrote on Apr 10, 2008 2:49 PM:

" tmac you are SO RIGHT that is exactly what happend. "

allebasi wrote on Apr 9, 2008 4:14 PM:

" to 7777777...."kidds" back when I went to school was always spelled with just one D....has it changed with out my knowledge??!!! "

BFM wrote on Apr 9, 2008 10:45 AM:

" To prove that the Steidinger's are truely not doing it for monetary gain I would hope that when this sad episode is over they show that they have donated any and all money awarded, after the lawyers take thier cut, to a charity of some sort that educates and fights against teen drinking. Only then will I believe that they are not at least partially doing it for the money. "

7777777 wrote on Apr 9, 2008 10:16 AM:

" HEY COOP its already been established who bought the kegs. They already had 3 bench trials. How do you know there was only 60 at the party? Chanel 3 news said around a 100 look it up. Seeing how the original jd wont answer my question why dont you. Are the parents of the other kidds involved bad parents? I mean what kind of parent takes their kidd & other peoples kidds back to a party?And how about the parents of all the kidds charged in this? And how about all the parents of all the kidds that attended the party? So for all of you people saying the Steidingers are bad parents why arent they all bad parents?Seems like a lot of bad parents!!!!!!! "

Momof2 wrote on Apr 9, 2008 5:48 AM:

" The article states, "Also named is Anne Haugen, who is accused of giving her daughter a keg of beer for the party." This is where some of the posters are getting their information, Coop. "

coop wrote on Apr 8, 2008 11:01 PM:

" it also says in the rules that you can't post anything on here that you can't prove...so i would love to see where you are getting these facts about how many people were at the party and who bought the kegs...you can't prove it...there was only around 60 people at the party and the parents of the kids involved did not buy the kegs...so next time you post, will you please think about it through youre thick head? "

allebasi wrote on Apr 8, 2008 8:13 PM:

" Popularity doesn't have anything to do with it. Kids just don't think of the outcome that can & do happen when alcohol is involved. We as parents can only hope that when these teens walk out the door they will have enough sense & willpower in some situations to just SAY NO!!! I have attended 3 teenagers funerals w/in a year related to them not using a better judgement & staying away from the alcohol. Sad situation & we all as parents need to buckle down & do better!!! "

7777777 wrote on Apr 8, 2008 7:15 PM:

" HEY ORIGINAL JD and everybody else saying the steidingers are bad parents. I was just wondering if all the parents of everbody involved are bad parents to. I seemed to have miss any of you talking about them. Just because they have a popular last name doesnt give them a free way out for what they or their kidds did!!!!!!! "

Momof2 wrote on Apr 8, 2008 6:07 AM:

" Now, that is an interesting thought, allebasi. Maybe everyone kid who was at the party should be sued. Maybe that would get them to start talking. Because, those "friends" of Travis' were not real friends at all. Basically, they just left him out there. Until one of his "friends" steps up and explains why they abandoned him, this story will never make sense. "

allebasi wrote on Apr 7, 2008 11:01 PM:

" pure sadness!! I know everyone involved & I feel like it is a no win situation!! The parents were out of town so they were not there knowing what was going on. Does that make them bad parents??? NO!!!!!!! Travis' parents didn't know what he was out doing... so that doesn't make them bad parents either. Travis' friends whom he went to the party with have alot of the blame by not getting help when he took off running. Friends stick together & they should of not stopped searching for him until he was found!! Maybe they should sue them!! "

dwarf wrote on Apr 6, 2008 1:00 PM:

" Wait - if the parents didn't give him permission to go to the party, it was still their fault that he went? How's that work?

And the kid was a minor - legally, he is generally not considered competent to assume full responsibility for his own actions.

protohooman - it's a civil lawsuit. Money is the punishment; it's just the way it works. I'm sure the parents would rather have their son, but a civil suit at least attempts to punish responsible parties (they lose money) while trying to make reparations to the victims (they gain money).

The courts will decide this. None of us have to think they'll win; there just has to be a case. Clearly, there is a case against the party-holders and the police. There's less of a case against the other parents who bought alcohol. "

What?!?! wrote on Apr 5, 2008 10:10 PM:

" money won't bring your son back "

heartart2 wrote on Apr 5, 2008 10:07 PM:

" everyone should stop and think about what you would feel like if you could no longer see the face of a loved one.as parent's we all do the best that we know how to it is very hard to know where a teenager is at every moment.teenage kid's have a very strong hold on each other they all wont to fit in >it's nothing new they are the one's who feel the pain everyday not you so until then maybe a little understanding would be the best thing we could do thank you "

CYoung wrote on Apr 5, 2008 10:05 PM:

" This is a tragedy to say the least. However, at some point you have think your kids will do the right things. While I agree with JD and the parents can't expect for someone else to pay for their loss. The kid was old enough to know better and had to know how cold it was outside. The loss is great and nothing, money, words or anything else can bring back the son they have lost but he did play a part in his own death. "

pc alum wrote on Apr 5, 2008 8:50 PM:

" Even if the cops did do their job, Travis would still have ran and stayed out in the cold. Although the cops were wrong, the outcome would not be any different had they actually busted the party. It is terrible that a young man had to die but lets not forget that HE made the choice to drink that night. These lawsuits are just rediculous. "

dwarf wrote on Apr 5, 2008 6:34 PM:

" An underage drinking party is deemed an inherently risky environment - being both illegal and random. It's a lot like owning a dangerous animal - no matter what happens, by creating the environment, you will be at least somewhat at fault.

The parents created an inherently risky environment by allowing the drinking party, and therefore are responsible for any events happening at said party.

The police have a lawful duty to stop illegal activities. By not stopping the party when they had a duty to do so, they also share responsibility for anything that occurs there.

If the parents had given permission for Travis to be at the party, there'd be less of a case. If Travis weren't a minor there'd be less of a case.

That's the basis for the lawsuit, and imho it's a pretty sound one. I'm surprised all the personal responsibility advocates aren't seeing this. "

bb/fb official wrote on Apr 5, 2008 4:44 PM:

" if the party hadn't been happening then the boy wouldn't have been there!!!!! what an interesting twist to explaining away parental responsibilities. annienap needs to get a grip and let the blame be shared for this happening. parents are just as responsibility as party sponsors in that they failed to educate their son about the dangers of underage drinking. any way you look at this, nothing good comes out of it and the parents suing is hypocrisy. "

mdorf4 wrote on Apr 5, 2008 4:04 PM:

" I don't understand how the police officers can be sued for this. The boy ran because he thought the cops were coming, even though they didn't. Would it have made any difference if they had? This is just a tragic situation where ultimately the person whose fault it was died. I was a pretty good kid with good parents, but I still went to drinking parties at that age, so I don't place the blame on his parents. He was the one doing the illegal activity, so he is responsible. It is a tragedy, but nobody else's fault. "

cheesehead wrote on Apr 5, 2008 11:18 AM:

" When I was 18, I was at a party that was busted by the cops. A bunch of us ran out the back door and hid in the freezing cold with no coats, hats, etc. and tried to wait for the cops to leave. It was too cold and we had nowhere to go. So we had to go back and face the music. It is unfortunate their son decided he would rather stay in the cold than get in trouble. It is a very sad situation but the young man was the one who ran away, nobody forced him to go. "

kj wrote on Apr 5, 2008 10:45 AM:

" Even if the deputy had called all the parents of the kids who were in that house, would this boy still be alive? I doubt it cause which one of his so-called friends would've stepped up and said anything about him being missing? None of them appear to have been concerned about him. "

7777777 wrote on Apr 5, 2008 10:45 AM:

" this is to the original jd and everyone eles that doesnt know the facts ! If the cops didnt do anything wrong then why were they FIRED?Just so all of yiou know Travis was were he was suppose to be.After that kidds parent went to bed they all snuck out and went tothe party.So quit blaming his parents for the fault of another.There were over a100 kids at this party so all the parents knew that this is were their kidds were ? Bottom line people there was one off duty deputy drinking at this party with the kidds, oh by the way his little brother hosted the party at his parents house hes now doing time in the county jail!Also how about cop #2 not doing his job!Remember they didnt get fired because they did their job!!!!!!! "

HappyInIllinois wrote on Apr 5, 2008 10:17 AM:

" Having a 17 year old son myself I cannot imagine the pain these parents are experiencing, however if you keep tabs on who your kids are with, that the parties they are attending are supervised (and not by a parent that would supply alcohal at the party), these types of things won't happen as often...Just assuming your child is telling you everything is not enough, you have to follow up, talk to other parents and know who your kids are hanging out with, they might hate you for it at the time but it will possibly save their life in the long run, blaming the police, give me a break. The parent or parents supplying the alcohal I can understand but don't pull at straws....there are more to blame then just the lack of judgement by the child in this situation, but the officers doing their job, dont think so..... "

OGS wrote on Apr 5, 2008 10:17 AM:

" It would seem reasonable that the parent who is being charged with contributing and unlawful sale, should also be charged with involuntary manslaughter. If not, why not? Without the keg purchase there would not have been an illegal drinking party in the first place. "

happy one wrote on Apr 5, 2008 9:50 AM:

" where were his freinds, should they also be sued. They didn't help keep tabs on him either. The family is suffering the loss of a child, no amount of money can fix that. But suing because you feel like someone needs to be punished is not right. He was 16, not drunk legally, and he made poor decision that ended in his death. The blame game is not going to change that fact. "

bkr0521 wrote on Apr 5, 2008 9:38 AM:

" I am sorry these parents are grieving over their son. It was a tragic death. But maybe they should put their energy into work to prevent teenagers from drinking. Then this kind of thing won't happen to another kid. Should the deputy done something about it since he knew something illegal was going on? Yes. Should the parents' whose house was used for the party made sure that nothing like that would happen? Yes. Should any of those kids been there drinking? No. And that is the bigger problem. "

ktlin wrote on Apr 5, 2008 9:30 AM:

" Hmmh! If the police do something parents whine! If they don't do something parents whine! I think it is time for appropriate people to accept responsibility. If the child is 16 whose primary responsibility is it? The parents. Both of the person having the party and the parents of the 16 year old. Then it is the responsibility of the person having the party and then the person going to the party. After those 4 people or sets of people then it might be the police. How many times have parents whined when their kids have been doing something and get in trouble and they deny that their kids are doing something wrong and if they do admit it they are just being kids. In my opinion the police should have broken up the party and sent everyone home or called their parents if they had been drinking. The policy cannot be responsibile for someone who ran from the police and got himself in far more trouble. What did the parents want him to do. Arrest him for fleeing the policy and underage drinking? "

nosymiss wrote on Apr 5, 2008 9:23 AM:

" I agree with the Original JD.....parents are responsible for their minor children. Period. Dont get me wrong, there are absolutely no winners in this scenario, but pointing a finger at other teens, parents, police is ignoring the fact that this young man, though a minor, was responsible for his actions and so were his parents. A great loss. Sympathies to the family. "

robcoltor wrote on Apr 5, 2008 6:58 AM:

" I think most of the problem is ALL the parents not supervising thier kids good enough. As for suing everyone to get a little money,thats the whole problem with this country,its ALWAYS someone elses fault. That and the fact that we have a whole lot of greedy attorneys. Once they get thier 60% plus all the other hidden fees they add on,there wont be much of the $440000. left for the parents to enjoy. "

angie wrote on Apr 5, 2008 6:51 AM:

" To the people who think the parents shouldn't be suing ~~~ have you talked to the Steidingers to really find out why their suing or are you just guessing? Cops going by the house and actually stopping and not calling parents???? Do you do your job daily ??? Why shouldn't cops???
"

Momof2 wrote on Apr 5, 2008 6:48 AM:

" I am from Fairbury, and ever since young Travis died, many of us have been asking this same question over and over: Did Travis go with friends to this party? And, if he went with friends, why did they not contact his parents or some other adult when he did not return to the party? I am not trying to be mean or judgemental; this is just a question that has been bugging us for a long time. If anyone knows any details about this, please post them. I am a parent of teenagers, and I just cannot imagine this happening to one of my kids. "

HS MOM wrote on Apr 5, 2008 6:23 AM:

" Maybe before you starting throwing the blame around, you should know the whole story. Don't come to your own conclusions or just the part thats in the paper. "

Filenet Guy wrote on Apr 5, 2008 2:42 AM:

" They can't win this case in court. There aren't compelling reasons to find fault against the deputies, as the young man left of his own volition and the deputies had no apparent knowledge that he was present in the house. The complicity of the parents who provided alcohol is difficult to prove. The parents also need to prove they themselves were misled about the possibility their son was at a beerfest that night.

For their sake though, the parents are grieving over their loss and are acting out in the only way they know how. Their attorney wins big if he gets settlements out of some of the parties involved, but I strongly doubt he believes he can win (with a local jury) if it goes to trial. "

Get a Clue wrote on Apr 5, 2008 1:12 AM:

" While we are at it. Last time I checked it was also ILLEGAL for a MINOR to be DRINKING to begin with. "

Annienap wrote on Apr 4, 2008 11:47 PM:

" I forgot something. We are supposed to teach our children to obey laws. We are adults and we are supposed to know that it is ILLEGAL to purchase alcohol for underage kids. Apparently, this young man did not have much alcohol in his blood. How does anyone on these posts know whether or not this was the FIRST time the boy might have drank alcohol? If I was underage and in a house where alcohol was being served, I would run, too, if someone yelled 'cops.' I was a kid a long time ago and believe me if 'cops' was mentioned, kids ran. "

Annienap wrote on Apr 4, 2008 11:43 PM:

" I don't agree with any of the four comments so far. Mr. Steidinger should get every penny he is suing for and some of the adults should go to the pen. I don't look at this as a parent making money from his child's death. If the party hadn't been happening, the boy wouldn't have been there. If the residents of the home supplied alcohol, that is illegal. If Sheriff's deputy/deputies knew what was going on and did nothing about it, they were WRONG. Why is the Mr. Steidinger or his deceased son responsible for the actions I have stated? "

CYoung wrote on Apr 4, 2008 9:14 PM:

" I agree with JD. Was the child suppose to bring financial gain to the parents, which is obviously what they are trying to get here. Why did he kid run? He was old enough to know it was cold out there. I am sorry for their loss but they do have to accept responsibility for their and their child's actions. "

Ads by Yahoo!

Allheartchefs Discount Chef/Cooks Pants

2008 Diet Of The Year:

Cheap Airfare