Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
UTAH STATE PRISON — For years, Richard Allan Bash dealt with his anger and depression by turning to drugs and alcohol.
On May 13, 2009, while drunk and high on meth, Bash drove 50 mph on a residential street in Roy. When he attempted to pass another vehicle, Bash hit a light pole, causing his SUV to roll into a yard where 54-year-old Wendy Kerbs was gardening. Bash's vehicle smashed into Kerbs, killing her.
Bash was convicted of automobile homicide and sentenced to 1 to 15 years at the Utah State Prison.
On July 17, Bash, 50, went before the Board of Pardons and Parole. With members of Kerbs' family present, a tearful Bash struggled to read a statement he had prepared, apologizing to the Kerbs "for the hole I left in your family."
"I have a hard time forgiving myself for what I did. I think about what I did on a daily basis. I wake up and look in the mirror in the morning and I realize that I’m a killer. And I’ve had a really hard time dealing with it,” he said in a recording of the hearing.
Prior to the fatal crash, Bash had already accumulated seven DUI convictions in various states.
But since being in prison, Bash said he has earned his high school diploma and taken life skills classes that have taught him how to deal with his anger and depression rather than turning to substance abuse for "self-medication."
"I can say with 99 percent accuracy that I will never drink or use drugs again,” he said. "Due to the life that I took from the use of drugs and alcohol … no, never again."
Bash has been diagnosed as having depressive disorder, PTSD and anti-social personality disorder. For years, he said his anger and depression resulted in him making bad decisions.
"This guy cut me off, now I’m going to chase him down and beat him up. That’s the way I would act prior,” he said.
Now, Bash said, he's learned that if he stops and thinks about the situation and tries to put himself in the other person's shoes, he makes better decisions. He said he has also learned to ask others for help when he's feeling depressed, something he said has been an "uphill battle."
"It’s been a long road for me to be able to ask people for help,” Bash said. "I was not the type of person to ask for help. But I’m not the person that I was any longer."
Parole Board Chairwoman Carrie Cochran, who conducted the hearing, noted that Bash had done well while in prison, and his most recent risk assessment for reoffending had dropped.
But Kerbs' children, who attended the hearing, said Bash hurting another family is what they fear.
"It wasn't just a mistake that killed her. It was a series of decisions. It was drinking; it was choosing to drive a vehicle while intoxicated," Brad Kerbs, Wendy's son, told the board.
Kerbs said his hatred of Bash "has diminished from what it was," but he worries about Bash falling off the wagon once he is released.
Both Kerbs and Stephanie Minning, Wendy Kerb's daughter, told the board what they want most is their mother not to be forgotten.
"I want that name to be remembered. She was somebody who was very loved,” Brad Kerbs said. "She was somebody that was loved and is somebody that can never be replaced."
"She was the strongest woman I know. She was my best friend and amazing mom,” Minning added. "If there’s one thing that comes out of this tragedy, is that next time you want to have alcohol or a drug ... or whatever, that you think of her first and don’t make the same mistakes and hurt another family, including your own."
If Bash serves his full sentence, he will be released in May 2024. Because of that, Cochran said she would be recommending a parole date. That way, Bash can be transitioned back into society under the supervision of the state. If he were to be released when his sentence expires, he would not be under any supervision.
The full five member board will now vote on whether to grant parole.
