It's All About The Money

On February 18, 2008, Jason Morgan Blair caused the death of Anthony Morales with a hit-and-run accident. Jason comes from a family with long-time local connections with other families who are well-off as compared to the day labor jobs that Anthony held throughout his shortened life.

I can't relate to such a loss but I can offer some comments on a dissimilar situation of another case of leaving the scene of an accident, albeit with a harmless case resulting in property damage.

Two years ago I accompanied a friend, David, through a court process that resulted from a car accident. He had experienced a “blowout” and lost control of his car. It was along Elgin Blvd east of Mariner in the wee hours of the morning where the street lighting is poor and a driver’s perception of road conditions can be impaired. He had struck construction barriers, became disoriented and came to a halt where he felt it was safe to pull over on the shoulder of the road.

John, a resident along that stretch of Elgin witnessed David’s unintended “destruction” of his mailbox and went in pursuit of the culprit, parked in front of my friend’s car and snatched the keys from the ignition while David was attempting to change the shredded tire.

Within minutes a squad car from the HCSO was on the scene. Let me correct that… there were multiple police cars. While David was being questioned and told to step away from his car, the group of policemen was leisurely chatting with John. They stood laughing, surely a bunch of “good ole boys” who had known each other for years.

The ensuing legal process found David in front of the Honorable Judge Scaglione, who I address in earnest. Although he had a clean driving record, David was chastised as none before him even though other offenders with long lists of traffic infractions were kindly moved along in the court process.

Leaving the scene of an accident was valid but the charge of property damage of an estimated thousand dollars was bogus. As I did too much of the legwork for David’s attorney, I found the only “destruction” was that the mailbox had been dislodged from the post, still securely planted in the ground. The thing was that that same mailbox had been reattached to the post, albeit a little dented but it fit well with already rusted condition.

The Discovery Report had other bogus information, such as David having traveled up and down Elgin, out to Cortez and back again. True, his disorientation created the situation whereby he left the scene of the accident but that was about it. In the end of the drawn out process and a fairly inept lawyer, David was put on a six-month probation instead of a year, but the biggest blow was that the $250 fine and doubled, to which the lawyer conceded was “the best he could do”.

With his eventual discussion with a probation officer, he explained that it was “all about the money”. This may not be the specific case with the hit-and-run death of Anthony Morales by Jason Blair but when you talk about the difference between his well-to-do family as compared the status of Mr. Morales, a day laborer, it’s pretty much along the same line of reasoning.

For the Morales, though, it’s not about the money; it’s about the death of a loved one. No amount of money can bring the 35-year old man back in the loving arms of his family. Their concern that Jason Blair will get special consideration due to the differences in the clash of society classes is justified, especially when Jason’s father is a former FHP trooper and has long time influential local contacts.

Multiple crashes and prior suspensions and the revocation of his license should prohibit his driving a motorized vehicle for a very long time. His sentence deserves no leniency. The court ruling should honor the words that the elder Blair used in an interview. The court should resolve "to do what the Lord" judges to be just.

May I suggest to the Morales family to remember the case of the death of Ron Goldman and the eventual acquittal of O.J. Simpson. Nothing will compensate for the loss of Anthony, but a civil lawsuit against Jason Blair might be the only means to come to terms with the reality that ultimately “it’s all about the money.”