Marina Keegan's Boyfriend Will Not Be Charged In Yale Grad's Death

ORLEANS, Mass. — A New York man won't face charges in the crash that killed his girlfriend, a recent Yale University graduate whose final student newspaper column drew national attention.

The Cape Cod Times ( ) reports that an Orleans District Court clerk magistrate ruled Thursday that there was no probable cause to charge Michael Gocksch of Centerport, N.Y. with motor vehicle homicide by reckless operation. http://bit.ly/M2rrFu

The 22-year-old Gocksch was driving when 22-year-old Marina Keegan of Wayland, Mass., died in the May 26 rollover on Route 6 in Dennis. The couple had graduated from Yale days earlier.

State police said speed wasn't a factor and both were wearing seatbelts. Keegan's father has said Gocksch fell asleep at the wheel.

Keegan died days after urging her peers to "make something happen to this world" in her final column, which spread across the Internet.

Comments

[fem56]

11:19 PM on 07/10/2012

So glad to see this happen. He will carry this burden the rest of his life. I pray that his dear friends continue to carry him through! It would not have helped his dear departed love and her poor grieving family to have charged him. Thought and prayers go out to all of them!

[Bosgirl]

09:48 PM on 07/11/2012

This is about personal responsibility.....

[jbvtme]

07:06 PM on 07/10/2012

tragically she's gone. but what about the yellow coat in the picture? is it being sold at a consignment shop?

[astrochicks]

01:46 AM on 07/10/2012

This was an unfortunate tragedy, he had his seat belt on, he wasn't drinking, he wasn't speeding, but fell asleep at the wheel. The guilt he will live with for the rest of his life will be his sentence. He killed his girlfriend by accident, his first love. I think it was a just decision. Thoughts and prayers to the family.

[Bosgirl]

07:38 AM on 07/10/2012

All he had to do is pull over and his girlfriend would be alive today. In the interest of public safety he should have been held accountable for his actions while driving which caused a death and to distinguish between genuine accidents and in cases which someone died because a driver was being negligent. Sleeping while driving is negligent.

[JohnnyKay]

08:40 AM on 07/10/2012

Going through life with no compassion is murder.

[Ayla87]

09:20 AM on 07/10/2012

Because you're a perfect driver yourself right?

[Bosgirl]

04:46 PM on 07/08/2012

This is very disturbing that this driver was given a huge pass by one lone incompetent clerk magistrate. Michael Gocksch was acting without reasonable caution and put so many lives at risk that day. He is deserving of blame and is sufficiently responsible for causing Marina Keegan's death.

[NickaRay]

12:40 AM on 07/10/2012

It was an accident..accidents happen, there was no malicious intent to kill her. You want this boy to be charged with murder and have the possibility of spending the rest of his life in jail for an accident?? He wasn't showing off or drunk driving or texting or talking on the phone. Horrible accidents happen all the time, I guess you would want every person who may be the person to blame for the accident charged and put in jail as if they did something intentionally criminal. Gosh, we already have enough people that actually do wrong on purpose in jail, that us tax payers pay to be taken care of..why in the world would you ever want someone like this grieving yale graduate or anyone that has been involved in the same sort of accident in jail, have their life completely ruined, when they will live with killing someone else in their mind, body, and soul for the rest of their life and probably always grieve over that fact. Educate yourself on what an accident is and stop being vengeful as if this young man is some horrible person when he isn't.

[Bosgirl]

10:08 AM on 07/10/2012

I must educate you on the meaning of accidents on our roadways. Car crashes are not accidents. Accidents are not preventable. If someone has a heart attack while driving and crashes, this is a true accident. Very few true accidents occur on the roads. Most are preventable crashes as in the case of Marina Keegan. Drivers that speed, drive drunk, drive recklessly, drive negligently, drive distracted, drive while texting, drive while drowsy, cause car crashes. Marina's death was preventable. Of course there was no intent yet our lives depend on people driving in a safe manner. Driving while drowsy is not a responsible choice and can endanger others on the road. Seeking justice for a victim who was killed needlessly is not vengeful. From all reports Michael Gocksch sounds like an outstanding person but with that said, he has to take responsibility for his actions that caused a young woman to lose her life way to soon.

[bruinsoxpat]

10:53 PM on 07/07/2012

Human are valued at $100,000 by Insurance companies. I am sure kids parents or school can come up with that kind of money. Though it's not replacement for real justice.

[Bosgirl]

04:28 PM on 07/08/2012

This is not a replacement for justice and the driver needs to be charged.

[awckid3]

10:58 PM on 07/06/2012

Accidents happen. The sun rises in the east. And the truth shall make you free. Just sayin.

[galvin1105]

05:57 PM on 07/06/2012

Rollover - a SUV? SUV's have a reputation of rolling over because they are not grounded as well as other vehicles. He certainly did not intend to kill her, but he will live with her death the rest of his life.

I also wonder if he had cruise control on. I hate and will never use cruise control. My father drove a fire engine for 35 years and taught me to drive (at 15). A firefighter's advice: ALWAYS have control of your vehicle. YOU control the gas and brakes. Both eyes on the road and both hands on the wheel. THAT'S IT!!

NO phones, CD music blaring. YOU ARE A METEOR! Just waiting to find a target :(

[CZlight]

05:52 PM on 07/06/2012

"Some things we must always be unable to bear." I think this was quote is from Lincoln. Driving is the most dangerous thing most people do here in the US. They were both using their seatbelts, so I doubt there was any reckless behavior. The poor guy made a very costly mistake in judgement and the poor girl is a tremendous loss to our world. God bless the grieving families.

[ricchh]

05:37 PM on 07/06/2012

What was his blood alcohol level?

[JJaycee]

06:25 PM on 07/06/2012

Don't you think that this was the first thing they looked at? If it were a factor, he'd have been charged.

[Josephine North]

03:04 PM on 07/06/2012

A terrible thing to happen, and how bad the boyfriend must feel for his girlfriend being killed. I think it is natural for her father to state he was not careful whilst driving. He is grieving and has to let off some steam. The boyfriend will have this on his conscience for the rest of his life. A terrible tragedy.
They probably will all think; if only!

[TopazOfBlue]

02:31 PM on 07/06/2012

So his blood test must have been clean with no alcohol or drugs if he does not face charges. He will have guilt for the rest of his life though. I hope her parents and family can cope.

[Howard53545]

01:58 PM on 07/06/2012

Sad, so let the boy go, even if he fell asleep it was still an accident.

[HipHopCoffeeLover]

02:38 PM on 07/06/2012

Exactly.

[linda huthmaker]

05:17 PM on 07/06/2012

Hi "HipHop",
I believe that Topaz was referring to the present case of the Yale Graduate-that her boyfriend (who has been exonerated) did not have alcohol, etc. Therefore, He is the one who will feel badly about what happened.

[HipHopCoffeeLover]

02:45 PM on 07/06/2012

Maybe he fell asleep suddenly without feeling very drowsy.

[Victoria DeLuca]

03:27 PM on 07/06/2012

You can't say that! Sometimes you fall asleep without realizing it!! Even her parents wrote letters to the courts asking them not to charge him! If her parents are at peace with what happened and do not blame him, then you shouldn't either! Accidents happen and sometimes during a long dark road trip you can fall asleep! It doesn't mean he should get charged! Have a heart!

[meanlady21]

01:52 PM on 07/06/2012

This was truly an accident and he should not have been charged in the first place.

[cclawnj]

02:43 PM on 07/06/2012

Of course it was an accident. Negligent or reckless driving is prosecuted every day. If there was no evidence of wrongdoing, then you're correct, he should not have been charged.

[thinkingwomanmillstone]

07:48 PM on 07/06/2012

He wasn't charged...the accident was investigated as are all accidents.

[meanlady21]

05:05 PM on 07/07/2012

According to the picture he is in a court room so some type of action was brought against him.

[boba7576]

01:50 PM on 07/06/2012

One hand washed the other .

[natal plum]

02:13 PM on 07/06/2012

That was kind of random

[boba7576]

03:51 PM on 07/06/2012

Thats how the rich and powerful deal with things like this .