Shaler man charged in death of girl, 6, not prosecuted in repeated alcohol cases

If Travis Grayson had been prosecuted for his underage drinking citations, he might not have been driving the night he allegedly struck and killed 6-year-old Ava Campbell.

Each of the three times that Grayson, 20, of Shaler was caught with a drink in his hand during the past 29 months, the charges were dismissed or pleaded down.

“Three underage drinking (charges) should have given all kinds of red flags in every aspect of this young man's life,” said Stephen Erni, executive director of the Pennsylvania DUI Association. “There would have been plenty of opportunity to intervene.”

According to state law, license suspension is part of the sentence for underage drinking, including charges sentenced to pre-adjudication programs. A first offense calls for a 90-day suspension. A second offense carries a one-year suspension, and it's two years for any subsequent charges. There's no guarantee that an offender won't drive with a suspended license, but it reduces the likelihood.

Grayson lost control of his 2004 Ford Mustang just after 10:30 p.m. Sept. 26, striking a mailbox before hitting Ava as she walked home with her sister and her mother from a play date, according to police. Ava died hours later.

Grayson told police that he drank 10 beers and smoked marijuana before the crash. He told them he went around a bend too fast and “was driving like a stupid idiot,” according to the complaint.

Just 76 days earlier, on July 12, police cited Grayson for underage drinking. He was a passenger in a car police pulled over in Shaler, charging the driver with drunken driving. Grayson pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct and was fined $455.

It was the third time he'd been charged with underage drinking.

On May 13, 2013, Grayson, then 17, was charged with one count of underage drinking when police broke up a party at a home in Allison Park. He pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct and was assigned community service, an alcohol class and a fine of $640.50.

On Feb. 23, 2014, Grayson was charged near Dunkin' Donuts on West View Drive in West View on admitting to drinking. The charge was dismissed.

Neither Magisterial District Judge Robert Dzvonick, whose district includes Shaler, nor Judge Richard Opiela, who oversees West View, could be reached for comment on their decisions.

Pittsburgh defense attorney Frank Walker said most judges try to walk a fine line in cases of underage drinking.

“A lot of courts want to give the kid the benefit of the doubt — say, ‘I get it, I understand' — but they also do a great job of letting the kid know this can turn into something more serious if they don't take care of it now,” he said.

District judges have discretion to reduce a charge and can sentence the young person to alcohol awareness classes, community service, “anything to make them see what they did and learn their lesson,” Walker said.

“Kids make stupid decisions,” he said. “What you do at this point is to identify what the crux of that bad decision is.”

Erni said it's not just a bad decision, it's a crime — and in Grayson's case, an apparent pattern.

“It's frustrating because we live in a society … where we're looking at underage drinking as a rite of passage and something everybody does,” he said.

“Some of these programs do not meet the expectations or hopes that we have for truly fruitful intervention into someone's life,” he said. “I think this is a good opportunity for people to understand that if you intervene early, swiftly and quickly, you can be able to provide help.”

Megan Guza is a Trib Total Media staff writer. Reach her at 412-380-8519 or mguza@tribweb.com.