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Car Wreck Turns Life & Finances Upside Down l Centralia Car Accident Lawyer

As reported by The Chronicle Online.

Twenty-one year-old Justin Bussart was driving toward his Centralia home after picking up some food.

Karina Rogge and her daughter were on their way home to supper.

Their two vehicles were headed toward the intersection of Summa and South Pearl streets.

Nine-year-old Kayla Rogge was in the passenger seat of her mother’s 1999 Dodge sedan.

“She asked me what dad made for dinner, and I said fish sticks,” Rogge said. “I looked up and saw headlights.”

The collision that followed that evening last March changed their lives in ways they could never have imagined.

Rogge was so severely injured, she was flown by helicopter to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, where she spent two weeks. Then she stayed two months at the Centralia nursing home where she was employed, convalescing instead of working.

Her husband, Tim Rogge, had to give up his spot on a shell fishing boat to care for his wife and two children.

Their family income dropped from $6,000 a month to zero and today they can barely pay their bills and are in danger of being evicted.

The Centralia couple is seething with anger about their situation and at the top of their list is the Centralia Police Department and the young man who ran a stop sign and caused the crash.

Traffic Ticket, But No Criminal Charges

Karina Rogge can’t understand why Bussart was issued a traffic ticket and wasn’t charged criminally with vehicular assault. She wants him to be punished severely.

Even though Chief of Police Bob Berg spoke with Karina Rogge by telephone to explain why, they’re unsatisfied with his explanation.

“We just wish the police department had time for answers,” Tim Rogge said on a recent day. “That’s what we pay their wage for, to protect and serve.”

Berg says he reviewed the police report and no further action from the police is anticipated.

“A vehicular assault is not necessarily related to the extent of injuries,” Berg said.

The outcome was bad, but it wasn’t a hit and run; nor was Bussart’s speed so outrageous as to suggest reckless driving, Berg said.

For the felony charge of vehicular assault, “you look for alcohol, for egregious driving errors, or intentional driving errors,” Berg said.

Bussart was cited for failing to yield at a stop sign. It happened in a 25 mph zone.

Critical care nurses who treated Karina Rogge as she was airlifted to Seattle described her injuries as consistent with an impact of a 35 to 40 mph crash.

Berg agrees that speed probably contributed to the seriousness of the wreck, but still, the report doesn’t indicate extreme speeding on Bussart’s part.

Apologetic, With No Way to Say Sorry

Much of the Rogges’ rage is directed at Bussart, who they believe is so unaffected, he hasn’t bothered to tell them he’s sorry.

“An apology would go a long ways for my wife,” Tim Rogge said.

Bussart has paid off his ticket and hasn’t had any contact with the Rogges. His insurance company had him write a letter of apology, but he supposed they didn’t deliver it, he said.

“My insurance told me not to talk or anything,” he said on a recent day. “I guess to save their butt.”

The crash was scary, the Centralia resident said.

“I never will run a stop sign again,” Bussart said. “That could have been the end of her life, and that wouldn’t have been good for her or me.”

Because of his costs from the wreck, the 21-year-old moved back with his mother, and had to find a different auto insurer, he said. His Chevrolet Blazer was destroyed.

He too was hurt, he said, when his head knocked out his windshield. He told medics he was okay because he didn’t want to go to the hospital and have those bills he said.

“I’d like to let her know I’m sorry,” he said. “And there’s nothing I can do to change it.”

Local Lawyer Wade Samuelson said it’s not at all surprising or uncommon for victims to feel outrage at those who wronged them, and for the anger to be inflamed when they don’t hear an apology.

Attorneys will advise their client not to speak about the case, Samuelson said.

“Most people want to settle it in term of (ordinary) social decorum,” he said. “But that’s not how it’s done in the legal arena.”

The Financial Costs of a Car Crash

Even knowing Bussart is sorry won’t change the reality for the Rogges, though.

Her pelvis was broken so badly, the 28-year-old won’t be able to have more children, she says. Her physical injuries may eventually heal and at some point she may be able to go back to nursing school.

But the financial obligations are crushing and their family income is thin.

Fortunately, although her own car insurance was unpaid for that one month, her health insurer agreed to pick up the hospital bills beyond the $50,000 maximum Bussart’s coverage took care of.

But their rent is $950 month, with gas bill, water, sewer and garbage, making it almost $2,500 a month to stay in their home.

The crash resulted in other costs, including $175,000 for her hospital stay, $30,000 for convalescence at Riverside Nursing Home, a $13,000 bill from Airlift Northwest, $6,000 for the ambulance, and the total loss of her car.

Her husband applied for DSHS and they offered to pay him some if he did volunteer work for 38 hours a week. He’d rather spend his time trying to earn money, he said.

She’s back to work part time, earning $400 every two weeks.

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The auto accident attorneys at the Davis Law Group frequently handle bus accidents, wrongful death, auto accident, and motorcycle accident cases. 

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