Justice will have to go unserved for the man who was killed by Garrett Bruce in 2011. And unless authorities uncover the whereabouts of Bruce and his family, it may never be served.
In late December 2011, Garrett Bruce was behind the wheel of his Dodge Charger along with Elliot Lewis and Patrick Vosbein. The trio were driving home from a shift at Papa John’s when the vehicle crashed into a utility pole on Meres Boulevard, doing what police projected to be a highly unsafe speed of 70 mph.
While both Bruce and Lewis suffered only non life-threatening injuries, Vosbein, who was not wearing his seatbelt, was thrown from the backseat of the car through the windshield. He was found with severe heard trauma and passed away days later in the hospital.
Upon inspection of the car, police found cans of Bud Light and glass pipes. Subsequent blood tests found Bruce’s blood-alcohol level to be 0.103, a far cry from the state of Florida’s legal limit of 0.08.
Bruce was later charged with DUI manslaughter and vehicular homicide in July of 2012. He made the $100,000 bail one week later and was strapped with an ankle monitor to report his whereabouts.
On Sunday, January 26th, at 2pm, Bruce was due back in court in Pinellas County for his bond revocation hearing. But that proceeding never happened as Bruce not only removed his ankle bracelet, but he also did not show up to the courthouse.
After probing into Bruce’s whereabouts, authorities discovered that Bruce’s wife, Jennifer, had recently planned to visit with family members in South Florida. But on January 13th, she left her father a rather disturbing message on his voicemail, informing him that they had left New Port Richey and she missed them, and that her two sons were okay. She gave no further details about where they currently were, were headed to and when or if they would be back.
Additionally, when the children’s schools were contacted it was revealed that Jennifer had pulled the two boys from their elementary school on January 10th, stating that they would not return. Within the next few days, Jennifer cut off all contact with friends or family.
Authorities have no leads on either Bruce or his wife and children, but do suspect that they are together.
Meanwhile, the mother of Vosbein, Patricia Walker, remains devastated that her son’s death continues to be an open, untreated wound.
Source:
Orlando, A. (2014, January 28). Wanted New Port Richey man and his family disappear. Retrieved from http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/crime/wanted-new-port-richey-man-and-his-family-disappear/2163050