— James and Mary Dum can talk about their son for only a few minutes before the tears come.  

His smile. His warmth. His friends. His life. Before too long, emotion overtakes them.

John Luke Dum, 16, died in a crash Dec. 3. He was killed when he was ejected from a pickup in which he was a passenger early that morning just a few miles east of Muskogee.

The driver of the pickup, Tyler Alred, 16, was released that night to a guardian. The Oklahoma Highway Patrol investigation that followed will show whether Alred may have been driving under the influence.

Two months after the accident that claimed his life, Dum’s parents want to know why the Muskogee County District Attorney’s Office hasn’t decided whether to file charges against Alred.

More than that, they want closure to a period that changed their family’s lives forever.

“As far as wanting to grab a rope and go hang someone, no, that’s not what we want to do,” said Dum’s father, James Dum.

His wife, Mary Dum, added: “Tyler’s a kid that just made a bad decision. As far as the legal process goes, it’s something that’s not in our hands. It just has to be done.

“But we’ll never get our son back.”

District Attorney Larry Moore said Friday his office was waiting for the report from the Oklahoma Highway Patrol on the accident. Without it, he said, his office’s hands are tied.

“We can’t charge or decide if we are or aren’t going to charge someone in regards to that without the report,” Moore said. “I feel so sorry for that family.”

Lt. Gary Isbell of OHP’s Troop C said Friday that the process of gathering information from that report can be very time-consuming. Repeated interviews with witnesses must be completed, and information from the pickup’s computer has to be downloaded and processed. And once that is finished, the report has to be peer-reviewed.

“It’s not a two-day process like you see on TV,” Isbell said.  “Everything has to be done very meticulously and very thoroughly. If the DA decides to press charges, experts will be called in that will try and tear our report apart and make it look like we didn’t do a good job, so we have to make sure everything is exactly correct.”

Two months after the accident that claimed Dum’s life, however, Isbell said the report would be finished Monday. “And then, Larry and his office can decide where they will go with it.”

For his part, James Dum said he will relax when the DA’s office has the report.

“I’ve heard the word ‘Monday’ before,” he said. “If it’s Tuesday and the district attorney has the report in his hand, I’ll be happy.”

Reminders of John Dum’s life can be seen all over his parents’ home, 430 Kendall Blvd.

A cross sits in the front yard, next to an old tree. It was made by some of Dum’s high school friends. Statements of love from his friends cover the cross.

“Everyone loved him,” Mary Dum said. “It’s remarkable how far he reached into the community. He was just a 16-year-old kid.”

James Dum set a wicker basket on the dining room table. It was overflowing with letters of condolence.

“This is just a drop in the bucket of the impact John had in the community,” he said.

Mary Dum said the family — her, her husband and their four other children, Emily, 29; Caitlin, 27; James, 24; and Matt, 22 — can rest in the fact that they knew John was close with God.

She said she didn’t think they could have done anything to prevent the accident. But she did have advice for other parents.

“I would just stress for parents to be close to your kids, and to be involved in their life,” she said. “We had a wonderful relationship with John. One thing I know his father cherishes is that he got to tell John he loved him and kiss him and say goodbye that night.”

Reach Dylan Goforth at (918) 684-2903 or dgoforth@muskogeephoenix.com.