The accident in August 2004 was bad enough.  It took the lives of two local boys riding in a powerful sports car driven by a 14-year-old boy.  The legal battle that followed lasted more than four years, involved the local criminal court, the U.S. District Court, even the Vermont Supreme Court.  It raised difficult and novel legal issues before it ended, as such cases tend to end, with more of a whimper than a bang.