Peck’s sister, Suzanne Jessip, said the phone call she received from her mother early that morning was the start of the worst day of her life.

“I thought of my parents,” she said. “You’re not supposed to outlive your kids. And I thought really hard about Andrew.”

Jessip said she still struggles with Garrison’s actions.

“The whole concept of him leaving the scene of the accident — the prosecutor knew he was there, the arresting officer knew he was there, and he left for 11 days. He just left,” she said. “I struggle with that. And I just pray to God every day that that man is not on the road and going to kill somebody else.”

Deja vu

Six years later, Garrison was arrested again. In almost the same location. Driving while intoxicated. And once again he tried to flee the scene.

Garrison’s most recent DWI arrest occurred on May 6 in Sarcoxie, not far from where Wayne was killed. A probable-cause statement reports that Garrison was seen by police swerving during a pursuit. He eventually abandoned his vehicle at a residence on Blackberry Drive, and fled on foot before he was apprehended.

“When my wife called me and told me he had been caught in Sarcoxie, just nine miles from where he killed my boy, I could not believe it,” said Bob Peck, Wayne’s father.

Garrison’s case raises the question of what society should do with men and women such as him, persistent offenders who have served their jail time but remain a menace.

“I think there are some changes that need to be made,” Carol Peck said. “There needs to be something that would deter them more. This constantly letting them out to repeat everything that they do ... the young man who killed Wayne is a repeat offender ... I don’t have much to say about the justice system.

“I do want to say that our law enforcement are out there doing their jobs but they have got to have the backup of the court system.”

History of problems

At the time of the wreck in 2003, Garrison’s license was revoked for points violations. His driving record at that time also included one misdemeanor DWI offense and one driving while suspended or revoked offense, both of which occurred in 1999.

Following the collision with Peck, Garrison was on the lam for almost two weeks before authorities caught him. By that time, Wilson said officers were unable to make a case that Garrison had been intoxicated when Peck was killed.

“The way the law is written, and the way it works is you have to be able to prove things,” Wilson said. “We’re innocent until proven guilty. In that particular case, it was just impossible to prove anything other than the fact that he left the scene.”