A judge on Wednesday dismissed lawsuits that a grieving father filed against the Botetourt County commonwealth's attorney and Virginia State Police.

The suits stemmed from a May 26 wreck in which a fire truck hit a vehicle driven by Russell Meadows, 44.

The wreck killed Meadows and his passenger, 46-year-old Judi Clark.

Meadows' father, William Meadows, took the unusual step of suing the authorities who investigated the crash, demanding to know why state troopers and Commonwealth's Attorney Joel Branscom did not pursue charges. Branscom has said there was no evidence to support criminal charges against the driver of the fire truck.

Wednesday afternoon, after Meadows did not show up for a court hearing, a judge heard arguments from Botetourt County Attorney Elizabeth Dillon as to why Meadows' suits had no merit. Then the judge dismissed the suits, Branscom said.

The outcome isn't surprising. "The commonwealth's attorney has no obligation to bring charges," said University of Virginia law school professor Anne Coughlin.

"The decision to bring charges is left to the prosecutor's discretion, and he's immune from suits such as this one."

Dillon noted during the hearing that Meadows has a history of suing public officials, Branscom said.

A judge's order filed in 2001 in Giles County Circuit Court states that Meadows has a long-standing pattern of filing frivolous lawsuits. The order bars him from suing judges, court clerks and sheriff's deputies.