Wichita Lawmaker Seeks Wrongful Death Lawsuit for His Wife's Death

Early on Monday, the sentencing for Christopher Schrader finally came in from the Sedgwick County District Court. The sentencing ordered Schrader to serve a total of five years and nine months in prison for the incident he was involved in nearly a year ago. Back then, the 23-year-old pulled out of a parking stall in a Wichita grocery store and ran over a 60-year-old Annette Hedke after she fell close to her vehicle. The incident occurred on Feb. 5, 2015 at the Dillons store located at 21st and Rock Road.

When Hedke fell on the ground, Schrader's vehicle continued to drag her nearly 15 feet away from where the incident took place. He finally took notice of the woman's cry for help, stopped his vehicle, and rushed to help her. Hedke was brought to a hospital to treat her injuries. Unfortunately, it was too late. Hedke died 45 minutes later.

Following the accident, Hedke's husband, Representative Dennis Hedke (R-Wichita) filed a lawsuit for the death of his wife. Initially, however, it was thought that incident was nothing more than an accident. But after Schrader was found to have a combination of drugs in his system, he was charged with involuntary manslaughter driving under the influence and other crimes.

After Schrader was given the court's decision, the Wichita Rep was interviewed whether or not he was pleased with the result of the lawsuit. Dennis said yes and later went to praise the prosecutors who worked on the case as well as the judge who made the final decision for Schrader's mistake.

Schrader has been jailed where he is serving time for a total of five crimes including involuntary manslaughter, driving under the influence, driving with a suspended license, and marijuana distribution. The two charges, however, were dropped as part of his plea bargain with the prosecutors of the case. This is Schrader's second DUI offense.

Schrader had earlier apologized to the victim's family for the 'tragic event.' The family, however, requested the District Judge to impose the harshest sentence permitted under law.

Following the case, Hedke and his late wife's estate are seeking in excess of $75,000 from both Schrader and his mother under a wrongful death lawsuit. Schrader's mom owned the SUV that was used in the terrible accident. According to the lawsuit, Schrader should not have been permitted to drive given his driving record and use of drugs. Because of negligence on the part of his mother, Schrader's mom is part of the lawsuit.

Tags

Dennis Hedke, Annette Hedke, Christopher Schrader, Wrongful Death Lawsuit, DUI, Wichita

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