Recently my family got news about a friend of ours whose sister was killed in a drunken driving accident. She was a passenger in a car driven by another teen, who, the reports say, may have been drinking. He lost control of the car and our friend’s sister died in the crash. The driver survived, as often seems to be the case in these events.
Now, in addition to the horror he has to live with for being responsible for the death of a friend, he also has legal troubles including negligent homicide, which generally carries a 10-year sentence. It’s a sad thing because the driver had no intention to cause such a problem, and in all likelihood thought he was doing “a good thing” by providing transportation. But it just shows how a simple thing can turn so disastrous in a second.
As a parent my biggest fear is having to answer the doorbell in the early morning hours to face a Virginia State Trooper whose sole presence at my house is to inform me of a tragedy with either of my kids. That’s usually how it happens. A three-in-the-morning doorbell chime and the man in uniform reporting the kind of news that he doesn’t like to give anymore than you might like to get it.
It’s unimaginable how people can handle such news. For me, it would be numbing. I know I would be able to function, but a little of the luster would be gone, a little of the panache would disappear. It’s one of the two biggies I have when it comes to driving: no drinking and wear your seat belts.
When my boys were learning how to drive, I made a point of cutting out every serious accident report I could find. Time and again, and especially in the fatal wrecks, either alcohol, failure to wear seatbelts or both were determining factors in the death.
Legal ramifications notwithstanding, just the horror of having been in such an accident can be harrowing. It happened to me when I was 16. A friend and I were hitchhiking home from town and another person we knew stopped to pick us up. We could tell he had been drinking, but it was a ride and we still had miles to go.
He was driving a maroon ’63 Chevy Impala. When we got to my friend’s house, about half way to my house, my buddy said, ‘I made it this far, I might as well see if we can make it the rest of the way.’ Never were more fateful words ever spoken.
We managed to do pretty well the rest of the way despite some perilous turns. But then we got to the street where I lived. Making a right hand turn at 60 miles per hour doesn’t usually work, and the physics of this one turned out as one might expect. What really saved all of us was that the car narrowly passed between two trees on our trip out into the field. Both sides of the car were pushed in, and the force caused the hood to pop up. A couple bounces later and the hood went back down, but that just let us see the huge maple tree that was about to cause us to stop. Had we met the Maple tree first, I probably wouldn’t be here to write this, but by the time we hit the tree we had slowed considerably.
It was no surprise that the car was totaled. It was a huge surprise that none of the three of us were seriously hurt. Sometimes, I think, the good Lord looks out for people.
Since then, as a result of having worked as a reporter, I know that typically incidents like the one I survived often end up much more tragically. I remember scores of car wrecks that I had to report on over the years. There is a process that you go through when you take such reports, and after you listen to whatever the authorities have to say, there are the two big questions: 1. Were the occupants wearing seat belts; 2. Was alcohol involved?
There were three big accidents during the time my older son, Geordie, was getting his license. In each one, someone was either drunk or the victim wasn’t wearing a seat belt. My intent wasn’t to scare them, but to make them aware of the danger and how quickly a good time can turn into the worst event of your life, or the end of your life.
I know they think I was being overly protective, but then things like this happen and someone they know becomes a victim. In my mind, it’s worth repeating everyday: if you drink don’t drive and if you drive, wear a seat belt.
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