Editorial: Where is the justice in not charging for a child's death by DUI?

It took almost a year but charges finally have been filed in the death of Roxanne Bonnoni.

Well, not really.

The 11-year-old Natrona girl was killed Aug. 20, 2024 when she was crossing North Canal Street near Kuntz Road in Harrison. It was 7:15 p.m.

The vehicle that hit her was a Jeep Patriot. The driver was Jeffrey Glowatski, 65, of Harrison. According to police, Glowatski was drinking at Boots Bar on Second Avenue in Brackenridge, leaving the bar just minutes before colliding with the little girl.

Before Boots, he had been at another bar, court documents say. All together, he spent four and a half hours drinking 12 beers before getting behind the wheel. When his blood was drawn, pursuant to a warrant because he declined a field sobriety test, his blood alcohol content four hours later was 0.15%. Pennsylvania’s legal limit is 0.8%.

On Wednesday, Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala’s office filed charges. Glowatski faces three counts of driving under the influence — all misdemeanors. There are an additional two counts of careless driving.

That means he is being held accountable for his blood alcohol level while behind the wheel. He is being reprimanded for a lack of caution.

He is not being held responsible for the death of a child.

“We didn’t get justice,” said Heather Bonnoni, Roxanne’s aunt.

According to lawyer Brian Catanzite of MBM Law in Pittsburgh, who spent years in the Allegheny County District Attorney’s Office, this isn’t unusual and proving the death was related to the drinking isn’t easy.

“You have to prove gross negligence. You have to show the actual inebriation caused the death,” he told TribLive.

Zappala’s office did not respond to requests for comment. That leaves the charges alone as the commentary.

And, difficulty of prosecution aside, those charges are a reprehensible statement.

The counts are a pretense of discipline with no real follow-through. They mock the idea of accountability.

How can authorities recognize that a crime was committed in drinking and driving and yet ignore that there was demonstrable and catastrophic consequence?

Pennsylvania has a specific charge for homicide by vehicle, a third-degree felony. It includes actions like drunk driving, speeding and other illegal motor vehicle actions that, albeit unintentionally, result in someone’s death.

With the driver still legally drunk hours after a child died, the justification for charging seems clear. If the DA’s office has enough evidence to press charges for the DUI, there should be enough to demand accountability for Roxanne Bonnoni’s death. Whether there is doubt should be a question for a jury.

To not bring charges related to the death at all means killing a child was the least important thing that happened in that Jeep Patriot. After a year of waiting for charges, this is unjust.