Last night I attended a Town Hall Meeting sponsored by the Williamson County Coalition to Prevent Drug and Alcohol Abuse. It was very interesting, I am ony sorry there were not hundreds of parents and teens there.
Derrick, a handsome young man in his late twenties, told how a bad decision caused him to spend more than 25 % of his live in prison. He went to one of our local high schools where he was an athelete and an easy going, fun loving guy. He drank a “little alcohol” now and then, but it was never a significant part of his life. In the spring of his second year in college, and 20 years old, he and a friend went to Florida for Spring Break. There they met some old high school friends and planned a party at a beach front hotel some distance from the place they were staying.
Being forward thinking and careful men, they rented a room at the hotel so they would not have to drive after drinking. Additionally, Derrick checked his truck keys at the desk thus, guaranteeing he would not drive drunk. During the course of the evening one of his highschool friends had some kind of an accident in his hotel room and was found wedged on the floor between the beds bleeding from his head. In the comotion of getting him help the hotel management came upon the situation and called 911. He also threw them out of the hotel for making a raukus.
Derrick was now out of a room and in pocession of his keys. He and his friend decided to follow the ambulance to the hospital to look after their injured friend. While exiting the parking lot, the car in front of them came to a sudden stop, and Derrick plowed into the back of the car injuring the 3 people in the back seat. The police report noted he had driven about 100 yards in the parking lot and was traveling under 30 mph.
Unfortuantely one of the girls in the car had fatal injuries and died a day or so later. Derick was charged with a felony of vehicle homicide while intoxicated, DUI, as well as battering and injuring two other passengers. He was sentenced to 10 years in prison followed by 10 years of probation and lifetime denial of driving license.
He went on to tell how this affected his family; his mom who would never even take an aspirin required tranquilizers, his 9 y/o sister spent every Christmas in the prison visitor’s lounge, there were multiple suits from the families of the injured kids and from the family of the girl who was killed. He was released after serving 7+ years but still must arrange someone to drive him to work and whereever else he needs to go. And every morning he awakes seeing the picture of the girl he killed because of his bad decision to drive while intoxicated.
Then he told us of the even more tragic part of the story: that of the families of the victims. How do they recover from the death of their daughter, sister, granddaughter and friend? Psychologists tell us there is no recovery from the death of a child, only the ability to get past it. But no day goes by without thinking of what might have been, or of the drunk driver who took her life and changed theirs forever.
All of this is so commonplace that it hardly makes news, but thanks to organizations, like MADD, things are changing. Courts are less forgiving than years ago. One lady at the meeting told of her 92 y/o grandmother and her 39 y/o cousin, who was driving her, being killed years ago by a drunk driver. He was given 60 days of community service!
Spring Break is about over for this year, but prom season is upon us. How many parents worry about their kids on prom night? I think almost all! My suggestion is to host a post prom party at your home. And be there! Another lady at last night’s meeting told of a party she and her husband hosted at their house. When the hour got late and everyone was having a good time she and her husband retired to bed. After they were asleep some other, who were not friends of the host kids, invaded the party and brought alcohol. Some time later, the parents were awakened by the police raiding their home. The parents were charged with contributing to the deliquency of minors! So, be there until the last guest is gone.
Regular readers of this blog are familiar with Eric’s Rules for Post Prom Parties. If you are not please go to the post of March 10 and read them. Then, forward them to all your friends you have and ask them to pass them on. Eric’s rules can keep kids safe on prom night and any other night when celebrating is in order. Read them, study them, enforce them, and send them on. You all know families with prom goers who will thank you.
For more information about teens and alcohol and drug use see Chapters 8, 9, and 10 in Messengers in Denim