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“I’m sixteen, sir.” This shocks the jury, with a noticeable intake of breath coming from their section.
“Wow, sixteen. You have your whole life ahead of you still.”
A flash of anger etches behind his deformities. “What future? He took that away from me.” He viciously points to Benjamin Miller.
“And in the eyes of the judicial system, we’re here to see your pain and suffering be compensated. It may not take back what you sustained that day, but it will offer you some guidance for your future. Please, would you describe your experience the day of the accident?”
No one can prepare for the horrific scenes Caleb is about to describe. “I was late for work that morning. My mom…she’s… she was pregnant and wasn’t feeling well. It’s just us, so I didn’t want to leave her all alone. When I got to work, I snuck in behind the site trailers. Mr. Miller had eyes everywhere and I couldn’t afford to get fired with a little brother or sister on the way.” He pauses, the tube in his neck helping him take a breath. “I was scheduled to work the rig that morning. I watched some videos the night before to make sure I knew exactly how to operate it. Since I was late, they threw Jason on it. I’d just made it to the machine and was flagging him down so we could switch. He shouldn’t have been up there. If I hadn’t been late, he wouldn’t have—”
Caleb starts coughing, and I reach for the glass of water on my table and offer it to him. He attempts a sip, but it doesn’t mask the horrified sob that erupts from his chest. “I distracted him. When he turned to look at me, he must have hit a lever. The crane holding a beam released, sky-falling straight into the pit. A cloud of red, yellow, and orange burst up from the center, the echoes of screams and cries with it. The flames ripped through the site. I was blown backwards into a pile of dirt. I was able to get up, but the fire was so intense, my skin started to burn. My first thought was to get to Jason, but when my eyes focused where I last saw him, the only thing I saw was flames. The entire rig was on fire, he was still inside.”
Caleb stops, putting his finger up, silently asking for a moment. “Everything went up in flames. Every two seconds, it felt like an explosion went off. The fire took no pity, consuming every crew member in that pit. No one down there had a chance of surviving. The ones who did were trying to save others or save themselves. But it was no use. I fought like hell to get up, even though I knew my leg was broken. There was movement off to the side, and I needed to help whoever was there.”
“Were you able to get to that person?”
His eyes tear up and what’s left of his lower lip quivers. “It was Kellen Winters. He was missing his two legs. Half his face was blown off. His eyes...they were vacant. He…I wasn’t able to save him. I couldn’t save anyone.” A guttural sob ruptures from his chest, and I watch as horror washes over the faces of the twelve jurors.
“Caleb, would you like to take a minute?” I ask.
He shakes his head, wiping at his face. “No. I want to finish.” With his inhaler for assistance, he takes a deep breath. “Before I could do anything else, shards of debris shot through the air in all directions. A shard of glass struck me in my left eye, and three shattered into my face. The foundation started to collapse, and I thought I was as good as dead. I managed to drag myself far enough to where I avoided being crushed by a burning beam. I almost made it to the gates when I was struck in the back with flying debris. I tripped and landed on a burning body, the flames taking ninety-percent of my skin off.”
Caleb’s face is unrecognizable. His skin was charred down to his bones, unable to be rebuilt, even after multiple skin grafts. He will forever hold the burden of that day every time he looks in the mirror. “Caleb, did your mother give you a sister or a brother?”
His face transforms into a blank void. “My mother gave birth two months early. The stress of the accident was too much for her. The baby was in distress. She had a girl. They both died during childbirth.”
Seven witnesses testified. Seven horrified victims who relived that day, the loss and the struggle.
In the end, Benjamin Miller was found guilty of thirty-five counts of first-degree murder. Twelve counts of attempted murder. Not to mention, violation of environmental law, corporate fraud, antitrust violations, and bribery. Benjamin Miller won’t step foot on free land ever again. We were happy with the victory, each family being rewarded a substantial amount in damages. It won’t bring back their loved ones, but it will help their future and to rebuild.
