Comments on: Time To Be Heard

By: Amy Tsai (close victim friend)

Amy Tsai (close victim friend) — Thu, 28 Dec 2006 05:33:48 +0000

Gabriella was an honors student at the University of Washington in my department. We’ve been good friends for 10 years since then.

She is bright, caring, and selfless. She does work with Compassionate Friends, a network for bereaved parents, having lost her own son many years ago.

She struggled through and overcame many surgeries pertaining to various injuries, while successfully holding at least two jobs to pay her way through graduate school to earn her Master’s.

She is great at offering help (she helped teach me how to ride a motorcycle, making me go out in the rain on a weekend so that she could watch me practice and give me safety tips!) Boy is she ever a mother hen!

One of the best things we love about our Gabi is that she can be counted on to always come to our holiday parties. And when she’s there, she dominates the party with fantastic stories of her life travels. Her mischievous smile and quirky humor always steal the show.

Gabi, I think you would be tickled to know that over 100 people showed up to pay their respects to you and your accomplishments at your service, as quick as it had to be put together for as sudden as this tragedy was. Your family, friends, and professional community really came together for you.

We all got a chance to meet your other friends and learn how you had touched others, just like you touched us! And we hugged and cried together as we recounted how we felt when the news of your death traveled over the airwaves to us and hit us like a hard punch in the gut.

Meeting your brother and sister at your funeral, I can see where you get your spirit. Oh my gosh, your baby sister cares so much about you and adores you! And she is like you in so many ways.

I wish you well in your travels. I miss you terribly.

From the sentencing hearing (http://www.komotv.com/news/local/4859826.html) I want to share words from Gabriella’s family:

The victim’s brother, Juergen Mayhoff traveled overseas to address the Gribble family in court.

“What I want to ask Mrs and Mr. Gribble and Mia is to open your heart and send at least a signal to my family,” he said.

By: Someone Who ONCE Knew Her

Someone Who ONCE Knew Her — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 23:28:53 +0000

I also have known Mia since I was about 9 years old. My experience with her seems to differ from everyone else of her “close family and friends”. I found her to be blank… blank as in no emotions.. no sense of compassion or teamwork. (AND FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO WANT TO SAY WHERE DID I GET MY INFO.. WELL I PLAYED WITH HER ON A TEAM FOR 6 YEARS!!!) This is why I am still shocked that everywhere you look on Google it is mostly what amazing team player she was… hmm. I am not here to bash her or to talk crap.. I just know in my heart looking at the video of Mia Gribble at the sentancing that I have seen that look once or twice. This is not a look of remorse or feeling sorry for the life she took (accidental or not..) this is the look of poor me and a look of a pissed off girl who is thinking “why are they doing this to me!?”. And I agree that Mia probably didn’t MEAN to hit the women but I am 19 myself and I know that I if I CHOOOSE to get in a car … if I used ecstasy a minute or a day ago escpecially while drinking.. I would be 100% responsible for my driving. I have been a victim in a superior court case and I showed more sorrow and love to the family who hurt me than Mia APPEARS to the poor family who lost a very dear one.

By: Elizabeth

Elizabeth — Tue, 21 Nov 2006 03:20:47 +0000

Please everyone, go to #12 and click on the link John has provided. Read the Affadavit of Probably Cause the charges were based on. Then go home and talk to your kids about Ecstasy. Here’s a link to a web site about that: http://www.theantidrug.com/drug_info/drug_info_ecstasy.asp

By: Another family friend

Another family friend — Thu, 19 Oct 2006 06:38:46 +0000

I’ve read so many things about this accident. I truly believe it to be an accident. I feel bad for both parties involved. I also have tried to pull out onto Edmonds Way. Its a tough area. Going back to the scene of the accident, Mia had to cross 5 lanes in a dual cab pickup. The motorcycle hit her in the rear panel of the truck, and spun the truck around. I can’t help but think of the speed from a motorcycle and the impact causing a full size truck to be spun around. I know at the time, the mornings were so foggy. All that in its own I can see as bad. I realize that there are now other factors involved, however, if Mia had stayed I believe it would have been ruled a terrible accident. Mia left, she was scared, young, confused etc. I know this girl, and she absolutely is not the villian some have made her out to be. No matter how you look at it, its a loss all the way around!

By: Close family member

Close family member — Mon, 16 Oct 2006 03:28:03 +0000

I am posting this comment to show my love and support for Mia. I have read some of the disgusting comments on this page regarding unfactual information on mia…and it doesn’t matter because in my heart and our entire family’s heart we know the facts and what a great/loving person she is. No matter what happens, I want everyone to know this accident was awful but you can’t want someone to suffer for their entire life. is that supposed to make you the bigger and better person? I know the victim’s family is going through a lot. Our family is too. It is awful for both sides. She is suffering too and she is going to face the reprecussions. I just want her to know how much we love and support her through this tough time and we be there 100% to fight this.

By: Close Family Member

Close Family Member — Sun, 15 Oct 2006 19:16:50 +0000

I can honestly say I have been priviliaged to know Mia her entire life and she is the brightest, most loving, caring and selfless person I have ever known. Yes, she has been involved in sports her entire life and is great at them, but does that make her a terrible person: NO! Yes, she graduated high school because she was a dedicated student, does that make her a terrible person: NO! Yes, she was in an unfortunate accident, does that make her a terrible person: NO. I want you all to remember when you were 18 years old and tell me how you would react to being in an ACCIDENT as the one she was in, scared and in shock. Not one person or psychiatrist for that matter can tell me how you would react because you don’t know until you are in the situation yourself and make that “split-second” decision. This was a horrible ACCIDENT, they call them accidents for a reason and I will be the first to say that this was not done on purpose or with any malicious intent. I feel for both sides of this horrible situation and you can all make as many accusations as you want but you will never know the amount of hurt it has caused everyone on both sides. It was an accident. We will never know every detail therefore we can’t point fingers and it is not up to readers of an article to convict her. I want you all to realize that making hurtful comments is insensitive and uncalled for. I hope you all can understand when I ask you to keep your opinions to yourself and let both families get through this really difficult time.

By: A Reader

A Reader — Fri, 13 Oct 2006 05:22:57 +0000

I believe it is up to the system and her parents to provide the needed correction for her actions. It is not up to each individual to dole out their own punishment - behaving like a judge and jury with arbitrary punishments. Where would it end? Should her minister excommuicate her? Should her bank decide she isn’t “their” kind of customer? We have a court system and correctional institutions for a reason. We don’t need vigilante justice being handed out by those that read the newspaper. Like anyone else Mia will be and should be given her day in court rather than being prejudged by anyone. You do not say you were a witness to the incident so your information can only be hearsay until it becomes part of the court record - an AD or coach would be operating in like manner if they acted as you wish. Barring her from her team could easily have opened the school to discrimination litigation with no point. Again, we don’t live in a society where scarlet letters are worn - let the court system work and let’s allow those that can objectively and unemotionally assign fair punishment - trust them to do their jobs. Pray for the victim’s family, pray for Mia’s family and finally, yes, pray for Mia that she will learn a very hard lesson and come out of this a better person.

By: John

John — Fri, 13 Oct 2006 03:54:42 +0000

EW Student,

Thank you for participating in this discussion.

Driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol and leaving the scene of a serious accident are serious mistakes. Mia’s mistakes cost someone their life. I ask only that she be punished to the full extent of the law. What punishment would Ms. Roosevelt have received had she been under the influence, hit Mia and left the scene? I am certain that it would have been harsh.

I understand that Mia is young. My own daughter is very nearly the same age. I sympathize with her parents. I can only imagine how difficult it must be to see their daughter go through this. I applaud them for any role they may have had in encouraging Mia to accept responsibility and negotiate a plea with the prosecutor.

There was never any dispute that Mia left the scene of the accident. This is not the behavior I would want to see in influential student atheletes. I think Weiss and Stroncek should have taken a different stand.

Punishment exists for two reasons: to punish the doer for their crime and to serve as a deterrent to others by reminding them of the consequences of their actions. Without harsh consequences we cannot send the message that we will not tolerate such behavior.

By: EW Student

EW Student — Thu, 12 Oct 2006 23:35:37 +0000

From what I know, Mia Gribble is a really nice person and a great teammate for the past years that I’ve known and attended school with her at Edmonds-Woodway HS. However, for those that have never known her, I think any implications about her character are hearsay. Apparently, she did make a couple of huge mistakes, and I particularly don’t see why some would be interested in having her pay for her mistakes the rest of her life, or in some other way. In grievance of someone’s loss, it doesn’t need to incorporate blame for the mistake of someone else, especially because it was a mistake and the fact that she is still really young. To be frank, living in a middle-upper class community as a middle-upperclass citizen might get you around, but the dirty truth is that life isn’t fair and the most we can do is wait to see how the system works the case since there isn’t getting around all of the bureaucracy of the judicial system. In addition, since she was not yet convicted, Weiss and Stroncek the EW Athletic Director really didn’t have authority or a legitimate reason within their jurisdiction in restricting Gribble from playing basketball at our school even if they believed they should.

By: A Reader

A Reader — Fri, 06 Oct 2006 15:26:31 +0000

Someone with a little time would have noted that the school season ends in February, the playoffs in March and that Mia did not finish out the season as I said. Whether she should have been allowed to play is and should not be in question. People live their lives before and after their court dates. A little more searching and you would note that Mia is listed as a member of “the HEAT” 15’s teams. This means she was a member when she was age 15 and under - hardly this past summer. Ranting about the fairness of her inclusion on an All-Star team two years before this terrible accident is ridiculous. Was Ted Bundy a cub scout? Let’s pick on them too.
I can’t and won’t defend her actions after the accident. She was/is young and made at least two terrible mistakes. She will likely live with them the rest of her life - well past whatever sentence in imposed. People should mourn the loss of the victim and let the system work.