A Horrible Tragedy in my Community

[CollinsMom]

Earlier this week, a prominent member of my community, wife and mother of four, was hit and killed by an intoxicated driver. Here's a link for anyone interested...

http://www.whsv.com/home/headlines/37251554.html

She was jogging early in the morning, dressed from head to toe in reflective gear. The driver was impaired by alcohol, and has said that she was looking down to change her CD. She hit the woman, then fled the scene but was arrested later that day. Police say that she still smelled of alcohol when arrested 12+ hours later.

Driving home from lunch today, I passed the spot where she was killed. There are crews out working to replace the road. Also, on the sidewalk, there is a huge pile of running shoes and flowers.

This is hitting me hard on several levels. I feel that I share a bond with her because of fitness. I am also employed as a probation officer for DUI offenders, so this tragic death has had a ripple effect thru my office as well.

Please keep your thoughts are prayers with these families. Also, please remember to always wear reflective gear when running outside, and NEVER drive after drinking.

 

[mrsmel]

Oh, Katie, how awful! You and your community are in my thoughts!

anne

 

[cakebaker]

Lock up that driver and throw away the key!

Earlier this week, a prominent member of my community, wife and mother of four, was hit and killed by an intoxicated driver. Here's a link for anyone interested...

http://www.whsv.com/home/headlines/37251554.html

She was jogging early in the morning, dressed from head to toe in reflective gear. The driver was impaired by alcohol, and has said that she was looking down to change her CD. She hit the woman, then fled the scene but was arrested later that day. Police say that she still smelled of alcohol when arrested 12+ hours later.

Driving home from lunch today, I passed the spot where she was killed. There are crews out working to replace the road. Also, on the sidewalk, there is a huge pile of running shoes and flowers.

This is hitting me hard on several levels. I feel that I share a bond with her because of fitness. I am also employed as a probation officer for DUI offenders, so this tragic death has had a ripple effect thru my office as well.

Please keep your thoughts are prayers with these families. Also, please remember to always wear reflective gear when running outside, and NEVER drive after drinking.

I have zero patience with drunk drivers - I've had several in my past, and know all about the denials, the excuses, and on and on. This woman made a conscious decision to drink and then get in her car & drive - I don't buy the "disease" concept at all. She had a pre-disposition to alcoholism, I'll agree with that, but it was her choices that resulted in the death of that poor woman she hit with the weapon that was her car.

If that sounds too tough - TOUGH! I know the damage excessive drinking can cause & I have no sympathy for the driver of that car.

 

[Miss Lee]

Our cousin, a prominent person in his community, was hit by a drunk driver when he was out riding his bike, training for a race. He is now a quadriplegic. The punk teenager is now out of jail and has had other arrests for, you guessed it, drunk driving.

 

[andtckrtoo]

Oh that is horrible!!! My prayers to her family. There is simply no excuse for driving while intoxicated. NONE!

 

[chefkate]

katie, i am so sorry.
what a horrible thing.

 

[Beavs]

Unfortunately it is also prominent members of the community, wives/husbands, father/mothers who also drink and drive, not just punk teenagers. If you don't believe me, hang out at the courthouse one night and have a looksy. They are police, doctors, politicians, even EMTs...people who should know better but don't care. Some even show up to court smelling of alcohol. They come from all walks of life but that have one common characteristic.

(And btw, even if the person killed is an unknown lonely sole without a spouse or children to remember them, their murder by a drunk driver is no less tragic.)

 

[dorothyrd]

We have two incidents lately. One was a police officer, driving a police car arrested going the wrong way on the interstate at 2 am, drunk. She lost her job, but not her liscence, go figure. Luckily she was stopped before she hit anyone.

The other was a woman who had priors, went the wrong way on the same interstate, right before Christmas, blood alchohol 3 times legal limit at 1pm. Killed a 24 year old, 24 year old's fiance is in critical condition, and totaled another car. She walked away, although is in jail on a hefty bond.

I tell my kids again, and again and again. I know they will drink, one is within months of legal age, but never, ever drive after even one, and never ride with anyone who has been drinking. Hopefully the broken record gets through to their brains.

BTW, both these drunk drivers were older, the police officer in her upper 30's, the other woman in her 50's, so don't always blame the kids.

 

[chachi]

This makes me sad and infuriated at the same time!!

I also have zero compassion or forgiveness to those who choose to drink and drive.

I've mentioned before that my younger sister Heather was killed by a drunk driver on August 17, 2000. She had just turned 21 three weeks prior. I can not even begin to explain the devastation I feel to this day over losing her. My heart aches everyday..I miss her so very much.

My heart goes out to the family of Sherry Anderson.

http://www.geocities.com/rodriguez_family2002/

 

[Miss Lee]

Unfortunately it is also prominent members of the community, wives/husbands, father/mothers who also drink and drive, not just punk teenagers. If you don't believe me, hang out at the courthouse one night and have a looksy. They are police, doctors, politicians, even EMTs...people who should know better but don't care. Some even show up to court smelling of alcohol. They come from all walks of life but that have one common characteristic.

(And btw, even if the person killed is an unknown lonely sole without a spouse or children to remember them, their murder by a drunk driver is no less tragic.)

Of course, you're absolutely right. I stand corrected.

 

[bitmover]

This is very sad and I'm sorry about it. I'm going to take it as an opportunity to remind our outdoor runners to be so careful -- you just never know. Women tend to worry about being attacked while out running, and I know that happens, but I personally don't know anyone who has experienced it (and told me about it -- it may be something they don't want to talk about), but I know of two women, other than this story, where a woman was out jogging and killed by a car (one was sunlight in the driver's eyes). Make sure you stay well out of the way of cars, and remember, even if you think they ought to be able to see you, they could still hit you.

-Beth

 

[elliemom]

OMG- how awful. My prayers are with their family.

And to those who lost a loved one to a drunk driver, my heart goes out to you. My cousin was driving in the early am to the YMCA to teach underprivledged kids how to swim before he went to work. He did this everyday. He dropped his 11 month old off at the babysitter and less than 1 mile away he was killed. The young guy driviing was returning from a FRAT party and was still twice the legal limit at 6am!!!

I am nervous everytime my husband is out running in the dark and i NEVER travel on Holiday weekends like 4th of July etc. Why can't people celebrate without getting inebriated!!!! And where are the people having the parties???

ellie

 

[Miss Lee]

Here's some interesting information from the CDC. I pasted a brief excerpt below.

http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/factsheets/drving.htm

How big is the problem?

• In 2006, 13,470 people died in alcohol-impaired driving crashes, accounting for nearly one-third (32%) of all traffic-related deaths in the United States.1
• In 2007, over 1.4 million drivers were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or narcotics.4 That's less than one percent of the 159 million self-reported episodes of alcohol-impaired driving among U.S. adults each year.5
• Drugs other than alcohol (e.g., marijuana and cocaine) are involved in about 18% of motor vehicle driver deaths. These other drugs are generally used in combination with alcohol.6
• Half of the 306 child passengers ages 14 and younger who died in alcohol-related crashes in 2006 were riding with drivers who had a BAC level of .08 or higher.1
• In 2006, 45 children age 14 years and younger who were killed as pedestrians or bicyclists were hit by alcohol-impaired drivers.1

Who is at risk?

• Males: Male drivers involved in fatal motor vehicle crashes are almost twice as likely as female drivers to be intoxicated with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08% or greater.1 It is illegal to drive with a BAC of 0.08% or higher in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.
• Young people:
  • At all levels of BAC, the risk of being involved in a crash is greater for young people than for older people.7 In 2006, 19% of drivers ages 16 to 20 who died in motor vehicle crashes had been drinking alcohol.1
  • Young men ages 18 to 20 (under the legal drinking age) reported driving while alcohol-impaired more than any other age group. 4,8
  • Of the 1,746 traffic fatalities among children ages 0 to 14 years in 2006, about one out of every six (17%) involved an alcohol-impaired driver.1
• Motorcyclists:
  • Nearly half of the alcohol-impaired motorcyclists killed each year are 40 or older, and motorcyclists ages 40-44 have the highest percentage of fatalities with BACs of 0.08% or greater.9
  • Among drivers killed in fatal crashes, 30% have BACs of 0.08% or greater.9
• Drivers with prior driving while impaired (DWI) convictions: Among drivers involved in fatal crashes, those with BAC levels of 0.08% or higher were eight times more likely to have a prior conviction for DWI than were drivers who had not consumed alcohol.1

I knew of this information, especially as it pertains to teenagers, before I posted my comment about "punk teenagers". I didn't mean to offend anyone, and I am certainly aware that drunk drivers can be found amongst people of all ages and from every socioeconomic background. I'm just upset about my cousin, a very kind and dear soul with 3 children whom he can no longer support. It's pretty hard to work as a trauma doctor when you can't use your arms and legs.

 

[Beavs]

I am nervous everytime my husband is out running in the dark and i NEVER travel on Holiday weekends like 4th of July etc. Why can't people celebrate without getting inebriated!!!! And where are the people having the parties???

ellie

It would be nice if we could just hide in our homes holidays weekends but the reality is that drunk drivers strike at any time. You might be jogging, you might be doing your gardening at your home (as once happened to neighbor who was struck down in his yard by a drunk), whenever, wherever.

I recall being infuriated by an article in a local newspaper about a drunken EMT who struck and killed someone in the wee hours of the morning. The attorney stated something to the effect "this goes to show that something like this could happen to anyone" regarding the EMT who killed someone. Drunk driving doesn't "happen" in the passive sense. It is a conscious decision by someone to get behind the wheel drunk and murder and/or maim an innocent person. I cannot tell you haw many ordinarily nice people I know be so cavalier about getting behind the wheel impaired and how uncomfortable and reluctant those around them were to take away the keys. I only wish it was just the teenaged punks and not a mom who drives drunk with her infant in the car and countless other appalling examples.

 

[elliemom]

Michelle, those statistics are staggering!!! Scares the heck out of me. Thank you for posting that. And again my deepest sympathy for your cousin.

Beavs- In the ER we stopped using the term MVA (motor vehicle accident) to MVC (motor vehicle CRASH). This was instituted by the state and the hospital because most of these were NOT accidents. Like when you lighty tap the person in front of you. I know that I can't hide in my house but I tend to feel safer when there are POSTED road checks on our area roads. Mainly because a lot of the drinkers know which roads to avoid!!! And the police tend to do this every holiday weekend. Wouldn't you think it would be better to do random stops at other times of the year on all different roads?

ellie