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3 fathers' loss gives them grim mission

United in blaming one man for their children's deaths, they support one another as the suspect awaits his DUI manslaughter trial.

By JAMAL THALJI
Published June 29, 2005

DADE CITY - Two deaths had already been linked to Charlton Oliver Jr.'s being behind the wheel.

That number now stands at three.

Christian Ward was riding in Oliver's Chevrolet Camaro Z-28 on June 12, 1994, when it flipped off Darby Road while going 140 mph. Ward, then 23, was severely brain damaged. Unable to walk, talk or care for himself, he was confined to a Bradenton nursing home.

That's where he died March 11, said his father, David Ward. Christian succumbed at age 34 to the injuries he suffered in that accident 11 years before.

"Children are not supposed to die when they're 34 years old," David Ward said, "but his whole life was ruined because of this guy."

Which is why Ward is one of three fathers united in their quest to see Oliver jailed.

The case of Oliver, who is awaiting trial on a DUI manslaughter charge in another accident, was back in a Pasco County courtroom Tuesday morning.

So were two of the fathers.

Walter Singletary was there for his son, Levi, whom Oliver hit while the 18-year-old Pasco High School graduate was walking along a road in June 2003.

Levi later died as a result of injuries from the accident, and the Florida Highway Patrol determined that Oliver was not at fault.

James Harp was there for his stepdaughter Shelly Bingham, who was killed in November 2003 while on a date with Oliver.

The vehicle was going south on Coats Road, authorities said, when it went over the center line, drove off the shoulder and slammed into a tree.

Bingham, 33, died 11 days later. The autopsy showed she died of blunt trauma, injuries inflicted by her seat belt, according to court documents.

Oliver's blood-alcohol level was 0.203 an hour after the crash, court documents show. State law presumes a driver is impaired at 0.08. He awaits trial in connection with her death. Attorneys in the case were in court Tuesday for a routine pretrial hearing.

Harp said it's been a big help having two like-minded fathers to talk to and sometimes lean on.

"They've been very, very supportive," Harp said. "It's not a strictly personal vendetta on their part. Their feelings, from all the conversations we've had, is that we're all working toward a common goal: to have his license taken away, to get him off the road.

"The only way to do that is to get him put in jail."

Oliver, now 45, was freed on $75,000 bail after his 2004 arrest in Bingham's death. He never served time for the 1994 crash that left Christian Ward with a closed head brain injury. Though one test showed Oliver's blood-alcohol limit over the 0.08 limit, a jury in 1996 convicted him of a lesser charge: misdemeanor culpable negligence.

Circuit Judge Wayne Cobb sentenced Oliver to a year of probation and a $1,000 fine. Oliver was allowed to drive to work in Tampa.

Oliver also has been convicted of speeding four times, DUI twice and careless driving once.

"It bothers me considerably that Mr. Oliver was still out there," said David Ward. "I had said to Judge Cobb at the time that it was only a matter of time before Mr. Oliver killed somebody else."

The other fathers were also shocked when they learned of Oliver's legal and driving histories, and his links to Ward's injuries and Levi Singletary's death. That's why Harp said his family won't accept a plea deal or a repeat of 1996.

"Knowing there's been three victims, we won't accept anything less than the death penalty at this point," Harp said. "But truthfully, we want to get him off the road. We won't plead down to culpable negligence."

Usually, all three fathers attend Oliver's court hearings together. Ward couldn't make it Tuesday, but he said their zeal to see Oliver serve time hasn't lessened over the years.

"I think Mr. Singletary, Mr. Harp and myself will wait as long as it takes," he said. "But Mr. Oliver is not going to escape this."

[Last modified June 29, 2005, 01:19:17]