| My name is Tammy, and here' my story: | | Hi my name is Tammy and this is our story...My nephew is in prison for 31 1/2 to 60 yrs for drunk driving. This started when he was 9 yrs old. His older sister,himself and his younger sister were crossing the street for the school bus and he was holding his sisters hand to get her across the street as she was only 7 and he was the "Big" brother. An adult driver(whom should have known better) saw the children crossing the street and never slowed down. The children didn''t see the car coming as the sun was in their eyes so they continued across the street. The driver (a school teacher) never stopped and hit my neice as she had only one foot on the fog line of the road. One step and she would have been safe. She was picked up on the front of the car and her hand torn out of the grasp of her brother. Down the street went the car for another 50 yards before coming to a stop. She died an hour later. This was a trauma for the entire family but especially for my nephew. 3yrs later he took his first drink. He would continue to drink for the next 16 yrs. He joined the military where he continued to drink and eventually recieved a dishonrable discharge because they gave him a choice - rehab or leave. He chose to leave. He had a few car accidents was convicted of DUI and lost his license and checked himself into rehab but was allowed to leave after only 1 week when he needed help the most! For the next couple of years he tried to sober up but things would get rough and he''d be right back into the booze again. He was diligently trying to get loose from the cycle when he had a seizure and went to the ER. They found nothing wrong and he went home. 1 week later he got into a fight with his girlfriend and went on an all day drinking binge. On his way home - down a winding country road - he struck and killed 2children. The 3rd child said when they heard the noise and turned to look there was no-one driving the car. Did he "pass out" from the alcohol? Did he have a seizure? We will never know as he remembers "nothing" of the whole day. He was hospitalised for a 2 weeks due to injuries from the wreck. He then went immediatly to jail where he has been for the last 9 yrs. He has shown remorse for the loss of the lives of 2 beautiful children. This is a man who even on his worst day would have given anyone anything if they needed help. It devistated him when he sobered up and found out what happened. Not only did the family loose 2 young ( 9 & 10 ) children but our family has been deprived of ours. He has stated that he will never drink again that had there been "rules or laws" in place that when he asked for "help" to get sober - and he was trying - this never would have happened. He had been trying to break the clutches of the alcohol for 2 yrs pryor to this. Now he will be in his mid 50''s to early 60''s when he is released from prison. So essentially there were 3 lives lost that day on the highway. We have all missed him as he was a very vibrant part of our family. The family of the victims lost the older daughter to a car accident where alcohol was involved a few years later and divorced and their oldest son is now in prison. This is all one very long, very bad chain of events. My nephew drank to start with because he was trying to drown the guilt of losing his sister (@ 9 yrs old ) and then he just couldn''t live without the booze. It never solves anything and makes most things worse. Pray for those victims - on both sides. | |
|
Home