Those of us in the Rett Syndrome Community who knew about this were shocked and saddened to hear about Stephanie Cupps of South Carolina, who was seriously injured in 2004 in a vehicle accident when her respite worker (who has legally drunk at the time) drove off Interstate 20 and crashed the vehicle. The details of this story were told by Stephanie’s mother Amy Davenport one of the Rett Syndrome email discussion groups.
We learned from this WLTX-TV story that on August 31, 2007, prosecutors finally filed charged the respite worker with neglect and abuse of a vulnerable adult, which is a felony.
Amy was quoted as saying: “It’s up to the court system now. I do feel like we followed it through, and that’s what I wanted to do for Stephanie."
We offer our heartfelt kudos to Amy for the courage and persistence in pursuing this matter. It would seem to me that “following through” may not have been as easy a task as it would seem. It would probably have been easier to simply let the past go by, particularly with the rigors of caring for an adult with Rett Syndrome. The challenges of navigating any legal system are significant, although I am not certainly familiar with what Amy went through. I would imagine she had to spend a great deal of time convincing a prosecuting attorney why they needed to invest their limited time to more fully investigate what many might have considered a "cold case".
Kudos also to those in the Rett Syndrome Community who may have provided the encouragement, inspiration, and advice that may have bolstered Amy’s follow through efforts. This type of encouragement and assistance is what makes being a member of the Rett Syndrome Community such a joy. Kind words of encouragement can indeed inspire others to not only get through the rigors of each day, they can empower ordinary people to do extraordinary things.
We are hoping to learn more about how Stephanie is doing and will let you know more. Stay tuned…and keep those kind thoughts coming! It sure feels better than hearing hostile words doesn’t it?
Hello, I am Amy Davenport and thank you so much for getting our story out there. It was a long, difficult road to getting the Solicitors Office to go to the Grand Jury and get an inditment agaist Ms. Priester, which then resulted in her arrest. Stephanie has suffered so much and her injuries were life threatening and still affect her and always will. Thank you again for letting parents and caregivers know that you just have to persevere even when no one appears to be listening or wants to help you. I called the Solicitors Office every other week on a routine basis for 3 years. I went to South Carolina Law Enforcement Department – that has a special unit to investigate crimes against Vulnerable Adults. I went to the Attorney Generals Office, Sheriff Dept., Police Dept., anyone that I thought could help me get the Respite Care worker prosecuted. Hopefully, it will get easier for these type of cases to be prosecuted and law enforcement will not shy away from making an arrest. Thank you again. Amy and Stephanie
Hi Amy,
Thanks so much for your kind comments. Thank you for your courage and for being such a great Mom to Stephanie and an inspiration to us all.
Greg