[Hal Copple]

Our compassion and condolences cannot reach Steve or his passenger, and we we remain very concerned about the passengers in the other car. But the Health Insurance Act of 1996, or "HIPAA" , is very very strict about medical personel releasing medical information about patients. The final provisions of this act, protecting patient confidentiality, goe into effect April 14, '03. There are severe Federal sanctions for medical personnel who violate this Act.

So there is no way for someone other than a family member to release medical information about the other people in the accident.

We all hope that they will recover, and continue on with their lives. It has been a long time since i have lost a friend, and i remain saddened and somewhat disbelieving that this happened 6 days ago.