Man wants justice for death of wife

Former mayor Edward Hawley faces charges in municipal court for the accident two years ago that claimed the wife of John Marshall.

By: Linda Seida
   WEST AMWELL — Widower John Marshall says he doesn’t want to send to jail the man who was responsible for his wife’s death two years ago.
   What he wants is for the former West Amwell mayor to admit he did something wrong.
   He wants justice, he said.
   Mr. Marshall spoke about his wife and her passing a week before the case against Edward Hawley was heard in West Amwell Municipal Court. Mr. Hawley has pleaded not guilty to the charges of careless driving and obstruction of view. The court hearing was scheduled for Wednesday afternoon after this week’s issue of The Beacon went to press.
   Less than a month after his wife was killed in June of 2001, Mr. Marshall filed a citizen’s complaint against Mr. Hawley, charging him with reckless driving. A probable cause hearing was held, and none was found.
   Mr. Marshall said he was never notified, and the case was dismissed without his knowledge. That left a bad taste. Adding insult to injury is the fact the case for careless driving and obstruction of view is being heard in a building that sports a plaque honoring the former mayor. A change of venue is in order for justice to be served, Mr. Marshall contends.
   "I don’t think the man should go to jail. It was an accident," Mr. Marshall said. "Just so justice is done. The tickets aren’t even that significant."
   To Mr. Hawley he would say, "Just say what you did. Just admit what you did."
   "It was an accident," Mr. Hawley said Tuesday, declining to comment further.
   A person in the court administrator’s office, who did not give her name, said persons charged with offenses such as the ones Mr. Hawley is charged with are normally fined $78 for careless driving and $44 for obstruction of view, if they are found guilty. The obstruction of view charge stems from an item blocking the driver’s view, such as a decorative item dangling from the rearview mirror.
   Everyone seems to agree on the bare facts of what happened to Greta Schmidt, who was 31 when she died the day before Mother’s Day two years ago. At 9:20 a.m., with her kindergarten-age daughter accompanying her, she was putting trash in a garbage truck parked at West Amwell’s garbage transfer station, located behind the new municipal building on Lambertville-Rocktown Road. The township provides no garbage pickup for its residents, who must dispose of their own refuse at the transfer station.
   Mr. Hawley, who was then 69, backed up his pickup truck to the same garbage truck where Ms. Schmidt was unloading her garbage. His vehicle crushed Ms. Schmidt to death. She was pronounced dead on the scene.
   Mr. Hawley voluntarily submitted to blood tests, police said, and alcohol was not a factor in the accident.
   What happens after that is what rankles Mr. Marshall. The prosecutor asked for a change of venue to avoid even the appearance of impropriety and was turned down several times, he said.
   The day before the case went to court, the judicial administrator for West Amwell, Lolly Hoagland, was not in the office. Her deputy administrator would not comment and referred all requests for comment to Ms. Hoagland.
   West Amwell Mayor Peter Buchsbaum could not be reached for comment.
   Mr. Marshall’s attorney, Daniel Danzi, said his client has civil suits pending in Hunterdon County Superior Court against Mr. Hawley, the township and the hauler, Raritan Valley Disposal. No dates have been set yet.
   Unlike other states, in New Jersey, this type of lawsuit does not require the naming of a specific dollar figure, Mr. Danzi said.
   "This woman was killed in front of her 6-year-old daughter," he said. "The amount: incalculable. Any person with any sensitivity would agree with that. I wouldn’t denigrate this woman by putting a dollar sign on her life."
   Mr. Marshall has spent the past two years trying to come to terms with his grief and help his daughter, who is now 8, do the same. His parents have moved back north from Florida to help him raise her.
   His wife "could do just about anything," he said, and his daughter has inherited her talent.
   "She was fluent in several languages," he said. "She wrote novels, too. She deserves to be remembered for the things she accomplished, and for what a loving mother, wife and daughter she was."
   Her memory, he said, should be honored in the region, which is known for its strong artistic bent.
   "She was definitely the definition of Lambertville-New Hope," he said. "A woman who could do just about anything artistically."