MADD 2007 Online Candlelight Vigil

For Nathan Marti

In loving memory of Nathan Bradley Marti who was tragically killed on June 5, 2007 when he was riding his motorcycle into work at the United State Department of State where he was a Diplomatic Security Officer for 2 years. A drunk driver collided with him head on while the driver was traveling the wrong way up I-395 just south of the 14th Street Bridge.

Nate may be gone but he is not forgotten.

Trial Has Been Rescheduled

The new date is Tuesday, January 29, 2008, at 9:30 a.m. at the Arlington, VA, courthouse.

Bumper Stickers

Here are the bumper stickers to be available once the scholarship's ready!

Silicone Bracelets

Here's what one of the silicone bracelets looks like. They'll be available once we start receiving donations. Click on the pic below for a close-up.

Scholarship News

I received a letter yesterday that states that the Nathan B. Marti Scholarship Fund is now an official organization, woohoo! This means that we are much closer to being able to accept donations, to distribute silicone bracelets and tshirts, and most importantly, to honor Nathan's memory in a very tangible way. I expect to be able to accept donations by the end of October or early November.

Trial Updated #1

The trial will no longer begin on October 30; our lawyer received a subpoena for an unrelated case that day, so he must request a continuance on our case. At this point, we don't know the new trial date, so I don't know if this means it's going to be one week later, one month later, or even longer.

Stay tuned...

Trial Date

The grand jury met last Monday, and the trial is moving forward as expected. On Thursday, the official trial date was set for Tuesday, October 30. On the 30th, the defendant will enter his plea. If he pleads guilty, it may take a few months for the judge to decide his sentencing. If he pleads not guilty, the trial will begin that day.The trial is public, and I encourage you to attend if you wish to do so. Please let me know if you plan to attend, as we need to notify the court of how many people to expect -- per court policy, they may need to provide more security officers with a large crowd.

Donation for Raffle / Silent Auction

It's never too early to start planning...We're going to have a silent auction or raffle at the MA benefit. I'd like to start a list of possible items to auction or raffle. Things like sports event or concert tickets, brand new electronics, and gift baskets would be great.

Some banks like Wachovia, has a Possibilities Rewards program. With it, I earn points every time I make a purchase and I can redeem the points online by choosing things like gift cards, merchandise, airline tickets, and cash back. I've decided to take all the points I earn before the MA benefit and redeem them to get an item to donate toward the auction/raffle.

Hotel and airlines offer rewards points that can be redeem online by choosing things like a plane tickets, merchandise, gift cards, rental vehicles and other items. Since I have rewards with every airline and any hotel I will being using my points to donations to the silent auction as well as other merchandise that I purchase before the MA benefit.

If you are willing to donate something, please let Lindsay Marti know. Even if you don't think you will attend the event.

Arrest and Current Information:
Case Number: GT07019604-00
File Date: 06/07/07
Complainant: ROWLING, M
Locality: COMMONWEALTH OF VA
Defendant: CHAN, VATHANA SEREY
Defense Attorney: DENMAN RUCKER
City/State Address: HERNDON, VA. 20170
Sex: Male
Race: Asian or Pacific Islander
DOB: 04/24/****
Charge: INVOLUNTARY MANSLAUGHTER
Code Section: A.18.2-36.1
Case Type: Felony
Class: U
Offense Date: 06/05/07
Arrest Date: 06/07/07

Hearings
03 06/12/07 1000AM Continued Review Progress 3A 000
04 07/02/07 0830AM Continued Appoint Attorney 3A 000 05
07/16/07 1130AM Finalized Preliminary 3B 000


Virginia Criminal Code for Aggravated Involuntary Manslaughter:§ 18.2-36.1. Certain conduct punishable as involuntary manslaughter. A. Any person who, as a result of driving under the influence in violation of clause (ii), (iii), or (iv) of § 18.2-266 or any local ordinance substantially similar thereto unintentionally causes the death of another person, shall be guilty of involuntary manslaughter. B. If, in addition, the conduct of the defendant was so gross, wanton and culpable as to show a reckless disregard for human life, he shall be guilty of aggravated involuntary manslaughter, a felony punishable by a term of imprisonment of not less than one nor more than 20 years, one year of which shall be a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment. (B applies in this situation. The mandatory minimum is one year and the maximum term of imprisonment for this charge is 20 years.)

Massachusetts Benefit

All, please save the date Saturday, June 7, 2008, as the tenative Massachusetts benefit to raise money for the Radford U. scholarship in Nathan's name. People of all ages will be welcome!

We are working on all details, such as specific venue, and I'll post as more details are available.We likely will have activities such as card games, a putting competition, some sort of basketball competition, root beer pong tournament (kid-friendly!), and other activities that Nathan enjoyed.

Obviously, we'd like to raise as much money as possible for the scholarship, and in order to do so, we're looking for donations of all kinds: food, drinks, or utensils; items to put up for silent auction or raffle; DJ and DJ equipment; and/or people's time to work booths, set up, and clean up. Please contact me if you are able to donate any of these or if you have other ideas (lindsay.marti@yahoo.com).

The Final Flight

Don't grieve for me, for now I'm free,
I'm following the path God laid for me.
I took his hand when I heard his call,
I turned my back and left it all.

I could not stay another day,
To laugh, to love, to work, to play.
Tasks left undone must stay that way,
I've found that peace at the end of the day.

If my parting has left a void,
Then fill it with remembered joy.
A friendship shared, a laugh, a kiss,
Ah, yes, these things too I will miss.

Be not burdened with times of sorrow,
I wish you the sunshine of tomorrow.
My Life's been full, I savoured much,
Good friends, good times, a loved one' touch.

Perhaps my time seemed all too brief,
Don't lengthen it now with undue grief.
Lift up your heart and share with me,
God wanted me now, He set me free.

Mother's against drunk driving

Go to the MADD website and click on donate create a user name and make a donation in memory of Nathan Bradley Marti. MADD has a program called Memory Keepers which is a special recognition group of victims/survivors for whom MADD has received honorary/ memorial contributions of $200 or more to further the work of MADD in the hope that other families and friends will not have to go the loss of a love one because of reckless drunk driving.

The donantion is tax deductible so please print your receipt and hang on to it you will need the organization number and the amount that you donated to MADD.

Driver Charged in Fatal Wreck on I - 395

A Herndon area man has been charged in a fatal crash on Interstate 395 in Arlington County, last week in which authorities allege he was driving the wrong way in the northbound lanes and smashed into a motorcyclist.Vathana S. Chan, 25, was driving a 1992 Honda Accors with two passengers about 2:20 a.m. on June 5, Virrginia State Police said. The Accord struck a Suzuki motorcycle ridden by Nathan Marti, they said.Friends said Marti, 25, of Annandale, worked as a security officer for the State Department and was a graduate of Radford University.Investigators believed that Chan had been drinking, and on June 7 he was charged with aggravated involuntary manslaughter, Sgt. John Bishop of the state police said. Chan was being held in the Arlington jail last night with no bond.

Preliminary Hearing

The preliminary hearing went as well as it could have. He hasn't pleaded yet; they were just establishing whether there is probable cause to prove that he committed involuntary aggravated manslaughter, which has a possible maximum sentence of 20 years. The judge rules that the drivers actions warrant that he be charged with involuntary aggravated manslaughter.Now the case will go before the grand jury in August. That is a closed hearing, where the public doesn't attend, and the grand jury determines whether it will go to trial this is a formality trial could occur in October. At that time, we will find out how the suspect will plead.

Remembering Nate

Nathan's sister Lindsay has a blogspot in the memory of her brother. The family and friend's of Nate are in the process of trying to set up a scholarship in Nathan's name at his alumni, Radford Univeristy where Nate attended school from 2001 until 2005 when he graduated with a bachelor's degree in Criminal Justice he also minored in Sociology. The scholarship process is in its infancy stages right know but everyone can help by making a donation to the scholarship fund. The first step is to email Lindsay or myself your name, address, email address (which is only used for the purpose of Nathan's Scholarship and remembrance of him.) I can foward your information onto Lindsay.

US Department of State: Diplomatic Security

Hello Diplomatic Security Officers,

This blog has been dedicated to Officer Marti, who was tragically killed in a motorcycle accident on June 5, 2007. Family and Friends are trying to start a scholorship fund in Nathan's name at his alumni, Radford University. The family is asking for donation to start and keep the funds for the scholorship. Please feel free to contact me via my personal email with the information that has been provided on the flyer that is located in your break room and locker room. I will direct all information to the Marti family as it comes in.