The consequences of drinking and driving were discussed with students at Lower Lake High School on Wednesday, May 23. An unlikely duo came together to share the effects drinking and driving have had on their lives.
To some it may have seemed odd that a victim who lost a daughter to a negligent, intoxicated driver, connected with a DUI offender to deliver this important message. Judy Thein and Erika Harrison have formed an alliance in effort to prevent needless tragedies that result when drinking and driving are mixed.
Thein is a victim. She has traveled a long and painful road to recovery after having lost her daughter, Kelly, in a DUI tragedy little more than a year ago. Harrison is a victim. She has traveled a long and painful road as she struggles to recover from a DUI tragedy that she herself was responsible for.
The consequences Harrison suffers are visible and the price she will forever pay for her mistake is ghastly. Harrison lost her right leg from the knee down when she choose to drive while intoxicated. “I was the drunk driver. It felt like a regular day to me and I didn”t think anything would go wrong,” explained the 18-year-old Middletown High School senior. “That one night was not worth this. I have to spend the rest of my life on crutches or in a wheelchair.”
Harrison went on to explain to her peers how one tragic night has changed her life. Her aspirations of joining the military and becoming a firefighter have diminished completely. She can no longer play softball or partake in any of the other sports she once enjoyed. “It”s hard watching my friends do the things I used to be able to do,” she said.
Harrison went on to explain how she had struggled to complete her requirements for graduation; she was happy though, she said, that she has completed them and will be graduating among the Class of 2007.
The requirement she faces now she will face in a court of law. Harrison had been looking at felony DUI charges for causing great bodily injury to herself and to her passenger, who had sustained a broken leg in the collision. The charges have been reduced to a misdemeanor, but she still faces up to a year in jail.
Harrison also spoke of the pain she has caused her family and friends. “It was horrible to make my dad feel that way,” she said. “But, I think the one person who was hurt the most was my little brother. He”s only six. It”s hard to watch him be so emotional about it. It”s a real heartbreaker for the people you know when you come so close to dying.”
For Thein, the heartbreak comes from losing her child. “The image of how she died will always stay with me,” Thein said after explaining how her daughter, Kelly, had died in a horrific, fiery crash. “Her sudden death has left us all emotionally crippled.”
Thein shared with the students the disbelief and denial she had felt when, just two days before Christmas, she received the terrible phone call telling her that her daughter had been killed in a DUI collision. “After that phone call, our lives and the lives of her friends were forever changed,” she said.
Thein had brought a picture of Kelly with her to the presentation, giving the students a face to relate the story to. She shared with the youngsters how Kelly”s life had been dedicated to children and how those children, too, had shared in the loss. “All of this is because of a selfish, negligent driver,” Thein said. “Drinking and driving is not worth the cost of a life.”
The alliance that has been formed between Harrison and Thein is an opportunity for students see the impacts that drinking and driving have on parents and family members, friends and classmates, their peers and themselves. As time progresses, this amazing duo will be sharing their stories with students at schools throughout Lake County. For now, Thein and Harrison would like to send out this message: “Don”t drink and drive and please keep yourself and your friends safe for graduation.”
Contact Denise Rockenstein at drockenstein@clearlakeobserver.com.
