Antwan Gatlin's problems began when he was a teenager smoking pot, drinking and showing other signs of instability, his father said Friday.

Gatlin, 27, is a suspect in an automobile accident that killed a 49-year-old father of two on Tuesday. He is under guard at Medical Center of Aurora Southeast in stable condition.

"I'm mad at him and I'm disgusted, because I wish I could have reached him when he was younger," his father, Howard Gatlin Jr., said.

Howard and his wife, Frances Gatlin, are among those grieving for Brian Gleason, who died in the collision.

"My heart goes out to that family," Frances Gatlin said. "It was unnecessary. That was something that didn't have to happen to anybody."

"I really hurt for that family," Howard Gatlin said. "We have a prayer group and we have been praying for that family."

Meanwhile, they wonder what they did wrong.

"Maybe it was the divorce," said Howard Gatlin, 63. He and his first wife divorced when Antwan Gatlin was 15.

As a young adult, Antwan Gatlin accumulated a record of offenses, including drunken driving, assault and battery, and robbery.

In July 2005, he injured three friends in his car when he rolled it exiting Interstate 70 at Havana Street.

He was sentenced to a year in prison for multiple offenses tied to the wreck.

Antwan Gatlin is the father of a 2 1/2-year old boy, but his involvement with his son has been marred by drinking, drug use and drug dealing, his parents said. So they often baby-sit for the boy.

"I'm crazy about him," Frances Gatlin said. "But that baby won't go to his daddy for nothing in the world."