Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, March 21, 1995 TAG: 9503210152
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RICHARD FOSTER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The Sheriff's Office, according to the Virginia State Police.
After all, Capt. Ronnie Laughlin, a 32-year deputy who may run for sheriff, answered his wife's phone call for assistance in a squad car.
And before a state trooper could get to the scene, Laughlin called a wrecker and county sheriff's deputies, who showed up to direct traffic.
But Sheriff Carl Wells has a different answer. He says it's a State Police investigation.
They responded to the accident, as they typically do in the county. Besides, Wells said, the Sheriff's Office has a policy against deputies working accidents involving family members.
The fact is, nobody's investigating the wreck.
And although the State Police and the sheriff have abdicated responsibility for the investigation, the State Police still have questions.
State Police 1st Sgt. B.G. Ratliff said Trooper T.C. Chattin responded to a call about a single-vehicle wreck on Virginia 122 just outside Bedford around 1 a.m. March 12.
The car had significant damage, and Chattin noticed beer cans inside, Ratliff said.
Sheriff's deputies on the scene informed Chattin that Laughlin had taken his wife to a hospital. When Chattin tried to contact them at local hospitals, none had her registered. The trooper later tried to question her at home, but Laughlin wouldn't allow it.
A few days later, Bedford lawyer Drew Davis called the trooper and told him all questions for Laughlin's wife would have to go through him. That's when the state's investigation stopped.
She is not guilty of leaving the scene of an accident, because she did call an officer of the law - who just happened to be her husband, Ratliff said.
``Certainly it was suspected that alcohol was involved, but how it was involved, we never determined that'' because State Police turned the investigation over to the Sheriff's Office, Ratliff said.
"They worked it, whether they realized it or not. They called a wrecker to the scene. We didn't get any information out of them. It's their case."
Wells, who does not know which deputies worked the wreck, said that if the state won't investigate, Laughlin may have to, because he started the investigation - even if there is a policy against working a family member's accident.
"First of all, I have done nothing wrong," Laughlin said Monday. "I only acted as any responsible husband would do. And that is to assist my wife in a time of need.
Staff writer Matt Chittum contributed to this story.
by CNB