Collision of cultures part 1 of A 2-DAY SERIES
A year later, parents of dead Chinese students still want answers
On March 8, 2007, three Chinese students were killed in a car crash.
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Sunday, March 23, 2008
URBANA — Jin "Jack" Bian's parents are nearing retirement age, and they still owe on the mortgage loan for their modest apartment in Northeast China's Liaoning Province.
But that didn't stop them from borrowing $32,900 from friends and relatives to send their son to an Ohio college. They strung their hopes like ornamental lanterns on their beloved only child, nicknamed "little tiger" for his muscular build and passion for sports. They couldn't say no when this quiet, considerate son told them, "As a man, I need to broaden my horizons and explore the outside world."
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He joined some two dozen Chinese students pursuing a master's degree in business at Urbana University. A year ago this month, on March 8, 2007, Bian set off on a long-planned spring-break shopping trip with two of his roommates, Bing "Jo" Xue and Yan "Zoe" Sun.
Bian's Ford Taurus was idling at a traffic light when the driver of a blue Tahoe, traveling at an estimated 98 mph, started a chain-reaction crash. The SUV careened into two other vehicles and sailed airborne, landing on top of the Taurus. The three students died instantly.
What could be worse than losing your only child in a senseless car crash? Nothing, perhaps, except when the tragedy occurs in a country where you don't understand the language, customs or judicial system. There is so much these three families can't come to grips with as they sink deeper into debt in their fight to find justice for their children.
They don't understand why it took more than five months to charge the driver, Jason Skaggs.
They don't understand why the case is taking so long to come to trial.
Most of all, they don't understand why Skaggs was allowed to drive at all.
In 1994, his reckless driving killed two members of a local family and he served only nine months for the crime. Since then, his spotty driving record accrued 11 points against his license, and he allowed his insurance to lapse.
"To allow such a person to drive is like putting on the road a time bomb that is about to explode at any minute," said Bian's mother, Tiejuan Cai. "I don't see much difference between that and those terrorist bombs."
