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By: Robert Sanchez

Issue: May 2011

Section: Feature

Tags: Tony Majestic, Todd Stansfield, Sean Student, Michael Budge, Marvin Gilchrist, crash, awards

Rewrite

Nearly seven years ago, 16-year-old Todd Stansfield was behind the wheel of his car when it smashed into another vehicle on a rural, two-lane road in Douglas County. Four people died. Stansfield lived. And ever since he put pen to paper after the crash, he’s been trying to use the power of his words to make sense of that horrific night.

Ivan Majestic sits at the kitchen table in his home just outside Parker, a ranch house with a deck, a barbecue grill, and a long dirt driveway, flanked on each side by brush and yucca. He’s staring at the hutch in the corner of the room, at the bronze urn behind the glass.

The urn is beautiful, a miniature mountain with an eagle soaring at its peak; the bronze reflects the sunlight. The hutch is like a time capsule, a shrine to a boy who will never grow old. There’s a photo of Tony in his baseball uniform—hands on hips, a wide, bright, mischievous smile splashed across his face—and another picture of him dressed up for Halloween as Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz. At the bottom, in a sealed white bag marked “MAJESTIC, ANTHONY,” are the belongings Tony was carrying the night he died: keys, wallet, spare change. On another shelf is a ball Tony gave to his dad on Father’s Day nearly 11 years ago. The date is written in black ink across the cowhide: June 18, 2000. Four years, to the day, before the crash that would take his life.

There’s the old cliché that time heals all wounds. But sit here with Ivan Majestic—at the table where he watched his boy so many years ago—and see him stare at the urn that holds what’s left of his son. When you lose a child, he says, you mourn the death of the present and of the future. All the what-ifs in life. What would Tony have done after high school? What would he be doing right now? “There’s a range of emotions,” Ivan says. He has a tattoo of his son’s face on his left arm. “There’s denial and anger. Some people get depressed. It changes you. Am I a better or worse person today? No. Am I a different person? Of course I am.”

A few miles across town on a snowy winter night several weeks later, Marvin Gilchrist’s son sips a beer while his wife sits by his side in a Mexican restaurant. It’s been more than a year since Scott Gilchrist learned that Todd left town to start a new life—news that makes him question whether justice was served in his father’s case. “I don’t know that Todd is truly sorry,” the 55-year-old auto-body shop owner says. Scott is stocky, and a gray goatee hangs below his chin. “You always hear people say there’s a reason for everything. Well, what was the reason for this?”

He says that, yes, his father was an old man; that, at the age of 77, who knows how many years Marvin Gilchrist had left? His father was drinking, yes, but he wasn’t drunk. The sheriff’s investigators said it wouldn’t have mattered. How many people could have gotten around a car going that fast, slipping sideways into an oncoming lane? “It’s ridiculous,” Scott says, shaking his head. His wife reaches for his hand. “It’s like every time we went to that courthouse, with all those protestors supporting Todd, that we were being victimized again,” Janet Gilchrist says. “It’s like everyone forgot what had happened. Four people died, and Todd was behind the wheel. Todd had sole responsibility over that crash.”

The two think about what could make their lives easier, or at least could help them move beyond the anger they still feel. Janet says she’d like to hear from Todd, “but only if he’s really sorry.” Scott says he will never be able to forgive Todd, especially since the move. “It’s too late,” he says. “Why did Todd have to go to New York? So he could get away from this? When do I get to run away?”

Comments

I have to agree with the

Submitted by LivingCountry on Sun, 2012-02-19 20:19.

I have to agree with the above comments. While it is nice to know what happed to Todd after the crash, the last I heard he was a vegetable basically after my parents and a few neighbors pulled him from the car, but are the parents, relatives and friends of all those others ok with this article? The "old man's " name by the way is Michael Gilchrist not Marvin. Or so it says on his cross right up the road from my house. I can't really believe they are blaming him for the accident... though I guess it helped Todd out because he can't be blamed completely for it since Gilchrist was supposedly drinking..... but then again a blood alchohol level just below the legal limit VS speeding WAY over the speed limit on a very very hilly road with bumps ... I don't know...glad to see when they talk about Gilchrist later on they say that not to many people drinking or not could have avoided something like that. My mother has a co-worker that was on the phone with one of the students as the crash happend. They said they were going over 100MPH she told them to slow down then the phone went dead. I was in our arena with a friend when we heard a loud noise and ran up to the driveway to see what it was. Saw fire and ran to the house to get my mom and call the police. I was fairly young at the time so my mom asked me to stay in the driveway as she and my dad ran up to help try to pull the kids out before the fire department even got there. I met her halfway between our driveway and the accident with some blankets for the kids and our fire extinguisher, which we found out doesnt work, so there was no fire extinguisher from anything I remember..... It was not this amazing one man thing. The guy that supposedly pulled them out was that firefighter who at first said the crash was Gilchrests fault. He also said the roads were wet and it was hard to see. The roads were not wet. We could see everything down the road clearly. AND it was not "Twilight" as it says here. It was definitely daylight out. And from what my mom says the boys were not "bloodied". I am glad that Todd has made a recovery. But I agree with the comment stating that : I hope he is writing about safe driving. At least some of the time. I can understand though if he were writing about some things for himself as well. I am also glad that , from what I had heard, there was another guy who stayed got out of the car before the accident to stay with his girlfriend. But I am truly sorry for those who lost a friend or family. member during that crash. Just please know that people around here , my parents and our neighbors, did all they could for all of them involved in the crash to try to get them out before the car caught on fire to much to do anything.

Why?

Submitted by spaceystarr1 on Sun, 2011-06-19 21:18.

I am writing for the family of one of the victims of this Horrific crash.  Actually, I'm writing for myself...they have their own thoughts and feelings about that day, and this article.  I know the article wasn't written to glorify Todd Stansfield, but it seems to make the reader want to empathise with how "terrible" his life has been since the accident.  He's in New York...writing... I am writing this 7 years to the day that my cousin,  Sean Student died.  Fathers Day...AGAIN.  3 days after he turned 17...AGAIN...Year after Year.  I guess I am writing to say and ask that an additional article be written to commemorate the 4 lives lost.  To tell how Those families are getting along now, and to emphasize on Teens driving SAFELY and NOT Carelessly!   Cars arent meant for showing off how fast they can go. 

Todd, according to some of the teens at my familys'  house the day after the accident, told me he was driving fast and wreckless the whole night.  One of them even said, "Todd, slow down, you're gonna kill someone!" , and sure enough, less than 2 hours later he killed 3 people and the next one died the next morning.   

My aunt Karen cries EVERYDAY!!!  His younger brother, whom played hockey side by side with Sean since they were 3 and 4 years old, could no longer stand to be on the Ice without his brother there...gave up his hockey carreer when his brother's was taken from him.  I NEVER thought hockey would be dead in our house.  The jerseys and bags still lay on the table in the garage, dusty and untouched. 

Todd took a lot more than just 4 people's lives that day.  He took my aunt's, my uncle's, and my cousin's (Sean's Brother) as well.  And yet, he still gets to call or be with his family on Holidays and special occasions.  For my family, not only is Seany not there, neither are his parents or brother.

I'm sorry to be so brash.  Please understand my pain and frustration.  I want something POSITIVE to come out of all of this.  I hope when Todd writes, he writes about Teens driving safely,  I wanted him to do advocacy speeches...or perhaps this Magazine could promote these things in some ways. I don't want the 4 lives he took to be in vain,  I want his daily endeavors to be in honor of all of them, as well as those of us left here to deal with our losses.  I want my cousin back and our lives back, but I know that will NEVER happen, so in the meantime, I guess I want peace and awareness so that this TERRIBLE TRAGEDY NEVER HAPPENS TO ONE MORE FAMILY!!!

Thanks you for your time.

Spaceystarr

Article about Todd Standfield in may, 2011 issue

Submitted by ahmielak on Thu, 2011-05-26 17:52.

How dare you resurrect the pain of loss for the people Todd Standfield accidentally killed to sell a magazine. Did you ask the parents of those kids before you wrote this article? Did you get permission to run their pictures?

I personally know the parents of one of the kids who were killed.They still have tremendous trouble processing their son's loss.  Now you have not only dredged it up all over again but spread it to your large magazine reader base - to sell magazines with a sensationalist story. 
Shame on you and shame on 5280 for running it.

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