Friends and family on both sides want trying year-long ordeal
finished
Gilroy – The man who hit and killed Gilroy’s “birdman” will be in court for a full sentencing hearing in three weeks, a judge said Thursday.
Stephen Richard Lake, 29 – who previously pled guilty to the misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter of elderly bird enthusiast Norm Watenpaugh – was surprised to hear that he was not being sentenced Thursday when he appeared at San Martin’s South County Courthouse for a probation hearing. Instead, Superior Court Judge Hector Ramon, at attorneys’ recommendations, accepted a probation report and scheduled a sentencing hearing for 1:30pm Nov. 9. Lake’s nine friends and family members in attendance, plus 15 people who wrote letters of support, were upset the yearlong ordeal was not over yet, teary-eyed mother Carole Lake said.
“As a mother, I (have) see my son in total torment for over a year and he just wants to move on with his life,” she said. “It’s frustrating.”
On the night of Oct. 15, 2006, Lake hit Watenpaugh with a Dodge Dakota pickup truck as he crossed Wren Avenue near El Cerrito Way. Watenpaugh was on the tail end of a two-mile walk taken shortly after celebrating his 76th birthday with family. Stephen Lake, a trained Emergency Medical Technician, got out of the truck, ran to Watenpaugh, checked his pulse and repeatedly shouted “Get up,” Lake said. By the time police arrived, Lake was crying beside his truck.
Police could not determine the truck’s speed at the time of the accident and tests performed after the incident showed no signs of drugs or alcohol in Stephen Lake’s system. Even though Watenpaugh was not in a crosswalk, he established right-of-way by standing in clear sight of the intersection under a streetlight, police said. Stephen Lake originally pleaded not guilty to vehicular manslaughter May 15, but pleaded guilty to misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter Sept. 6.
Friends and family of Watenpaugh, some of whom were in attendance Thursday, mourned the loss of a tireless advocate of endangered species. Watenpaugh, who built more than 100 birdhouses along Uvas Creek and in Christmas Hill Park, was memorialized at the end of July with an interpretive sign near the intersection of Uvas Park Drive and Wren Avenue.
Watenpaugh family members hoped that Stephen Lake’s sentencing would include driver’s license modifications. Harold Lake, the defendant’s father, said his son is legally blind in his left eye and police reports that show Stephen Lake was taking prescription medication at the time, though they have not been shown to have affected his abilities. Watenpaugh family members believe Stephen Lake’s license should prevent him from driving at night or while taking medications.
The family just wants to make certain there are no more accidents, wife Michiko Watenpaugh said.
“No matter what the sentence is, my husband will never come back,” she said.
Lake family members and friends are also waiting to see what happens at the sentencing, Carole Lake said. The incident and resulting court proceedings took a toll on her son, she said. He lost 50 pounds, dropped out of school, lost his job and has frequent nightmares, she added.
“It was a tragic accident and this kid has suffered immensely,” Carole Lake said. “There’s two victims here.”
Christopher Quirk covers education and public safety for the Dispatch. Contact him at 847-7240 or cq****@gi************.com.
