x
Breaking News
More () »

Family wants charges against man who ran stop sign and killed Abingdon mother of two

ABINGDON, Illinois – A Knox County family is appealing to police and  prosecutors to get tougher on a man who ran a stop sign and killed a 40-year old wom...

ABINGDON, Illinois - A Knox County family is appealing to police and  prosecutors to get tougher on a man who ran a stop sign and killed a 40-year old woman on her way home from work.

Liz Dechow was a loving wife, mother of two, a  daughter, and a nurse.  On January 4th, 2016, a man named Ron Pashcal  ran his truck  through a stop sign onto Route 41. He crashed into Dechow's car, pushing the vehicle into an oncoming truck.

She spent 10 days on life support, before her family had to let her go.

"It's just devastating, I've got two kids at home who will never see their mother again. My nine year old wakes up in the middle of the night crying," said David Dechow.

The man who ran the stop sign was given two traffic tickets, one for running a stop sign, and the other for failure to reduce speed. He plead guilty and paid $240 in fines.

"To us it seems like authorities, that her life didn't matter," said Dechow's mom, Sue Traman of Abingdon. "Our lives are destroyed," she said.

Dechow had just turned 40 years old.  One son is graduating from high school this month.

Her husband says he wants a more serious charge filed.

"We want the next step, we feel there's enough there to justify some  kind of reckless homicide charge," Dechow said.

"The fact that someone can take someone's life in such a careless and thoughtless manner and get two traffic citations. The police are pointing at the States Attorney, saying he's not doing enough. The States Attorney's pointing to the police, saying they're not doing enough," Dechow said.

Knox County Sheriff David Clague says he feels the family's frustration and pain, but the law may not be on their side.

"Totally understand, but we can't change the law," Clague said, noting the man was not under the influence.

He admits Paschal's cell phone was not checked at the time to see if he had been distracted by texting or a phone call.

"A coroner's inquest ruled it a homicide.  They did not rule it an accident, and we thought, now they'll do something but we're still waiting. These individuals who drive recklessly and cause these fatal crashes are at fault," said Mrs. Traman.

Liz and David Dechow would be celebrating their 20th wedding anniversary in June.

"You can't ask for a better wife, a better friend. She was on her way home from work. An hour passed, and I didn't hear from her," he said.

 

Before You Leave, Check This Out