Greg Hawley never showed up for dinner with his family that evening on Jan. 10, 2009.
That was unusual, since Greg always loved eating together with his family at their Independence home, said his widow, Karen Hawley.
Karen, her two daughters and Greg’s brother and father, spoke Friday at an emotional sentencing hearing in Jackson County Circuit Court. They were joined by friends of Greg Len Hawley who packed the courtroom of judge John Torrence, who sentenced Edward Tseona to three years in prison for causing a violent wreck on Interstate 70 that resulted in Hawley’s death. There was standing room only in the courtroom.
Hawley was driving home from the museum he helped co-found, the popular Steamboard Arabia Museum in Kansas City.
The family waited there for more than an hour that evening for Greg to show up.
“A sickening knot formed in my stomach,” Karen said.
Hours later, Karen got a call from an Independence police officer who informed her that Greg was involved in an accident. He was in the hospital.
They got to the hospital before he finally died of head injuries and internal bleeding.
Now, Karen told the judge she is lost and that “nothing will be the same” for the rest of her and her family.
Karen said the crime has left “so many holes” in her family’s life.
Megan Hawley, his young daughter, said the paramedic told her days later at the funeral that Greg reached out and grabbed the medic’s hand while he was being treated in the ambulance.
“He was in a lot of pain. He was struggling to breathe,” Megan told the court.
The images still haunt her of when she visited her dad in the hospital, the blood running down his face and ears.
Greg, an author of three published books, was instrumental in excavating and building a museum of artifacts from a steamboat named “Arabia” that sank in the Missouri River in the mid-1850s. It’s the largest collection of pre-Civil War artifacts in the United States, said Greg’s father, Harland Hawley.
Greg’s death has been an “enormous burden” to the museum’s financial and preservation of the museum, Harland said.
New artifacts have not been displayed. The rich storytelling that Greg presented at guided tours has been silenced.
Harland said the museum has lost thousands of dollars. Greg’s expertise was in preserving the artifacts.
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Greg Hawley never showed up for dinner with his family that evening on Jan. 10, 2009.
That was unusual, since Greg always loved eating together with his family at their Independence home, said his widow, Karen Hawley.
Karen, her two daughters and Greg’s brother and father, spoke Friday at an emotional sentencing hearing in Jackson County Circuit Court. They were joined by friends of Greg Len Hawley who packed the courtroom of judge John Torrence, who sentenced Edward Tseona to three years in prison for causing a violent wreck on Interstate 70 that resulted in Hawley’s death. There was standing room only in the courtroom.
Hawley was driving home from the museum he helped co-found, the popular Steamboard Arabia Museum in Kansas City.
The family waited there for more than an hour that evening for Greg to show up.
“A sickening knot formed in my stomach,” Karen said.
Hours later, Karen got a call from an Independence police officer who informed her that Greg was involved in an accident. He was in the hospital.
They got to the hospital before he finally died of head injuries and internal bleeding.
Now, Karen told the judge she is lost and that “nothing will be the same” for the rest of her and her family.
Karen said the crime has left “so many holes” in her family’s life.
Megan Hawley, his young daughter, said the paramedic told her days later at the funeral that Greg reached out and grabbed the medic’s hand while he was being treated in the ambulance.
“He was in a lot of pain. He was struggling to breathe,” Megan told the court.
The images still haunt her of when she visited her dad in the hospital, the blood running down his face and ears.
Greg, an author of three published books, was instrumental in excavating and building a museum of artifacts from a steamboat named “Arabia” that sank in the Missouri River in the mid-1850s. It’s the largest collection of pre-Civil War artifacts in the United States, said Greg’s father, Harland Hawley.
Greg’s death has been an “enormous burden” to the museum’s financial and preservation of the museum, Harland said.
New artifacts have not been displayed. The rich storytelling that Greg presented at guided tours has been silenced.
Harland said the museum has lost thousands of dollars. Greg’s expertise was in preserving the artifacts.
