If you read my post on October 31st titled “Extraordinary” about the auto accident my son responded to, this is an update. If you haven’t read that post, I strongly urge you to do so now.
Here is a newspaper article published in Tallahassee yesterday. I have taken the liberty of eliminating names because this isn’t intended to personally slander.
Posted: 8:11 PM Nov 2, 2011
The Consequences of Drunk DrivingOne FSU student is dead, and some people are angered to to hear that the driver of the car that hit their responsible friend’s car had a blood alcohol level three times the legal limit.
Reporter: Lanetra Bennett Email Address: lanetra.bennett@wctv.tvTallahassee, FL — November 2, 2011 —
“It made me mad.”
Trey Cooper is an officer with the FSU Police Department…
He was out on DUI patrol the night his best friend Brooks Rogers died…
The crash report from Tallahassee Police says the driver who hit Rogers’ car on West Tharpe Street early Sunday morning had been drinking and driving. J.R. Erving was in the car with Brooks and saw his friend die. He was too emotional for an interview.
Cooper says, “It made me almost feel like maybe I missed one, that I could have done something. I was really mad.”
The legal driving limit for alcohol is .08…
The blood alcohol level listed on the report for 20-year-old ********** was three times that…
Experts say at between .09 and .25 a person’s vision starts declining…their sensory-motor skills are diminished, their balance is lost, and they get sluggish.
Cindy Wood says far too many people don’t realize just how serious those symptoms are when you’re behind a wheel.
Tallahassee resident Connie Russell says, “It’s a selfish violent crime that shouldn’t have to happen. This mother shouldn’t be without her child. Brooks should still be in college. So honestly I was angry and my heart just went out to those parents.”
One study shows it would take more than nine drinks for the average man to reach **********’s reported blood alcohol level the night he decided to get behind the wheel.
Nick, my son, and 2 of his close friends (also at the scene of the accident on Sunday) attended the service for Brooks Rogers last night. They were directed to Brooks’ mom who was receiving condolences from a long line of family and friends. When her best friend whispered in her ear who Nick and his friends were, she immediately turned to them and received the news that her son had not passed away feeling alone. Brooks had, in fact, responded to my son speaking to him, albeit with struggling moans. He had, my son insists, known that someone was there with him. Naturally, his mother was very thankful for this tiny news to hold on to. Graciously, she thanked them, hugged them, exchanged contact information and asked them to pray for the young man who had been in the back seat; the one my son had held up to assist his breathing. I am so, so happy to report that he is in intensive care but he is stable and expected to make a full recovery.
Consequences of a poor decision. The decision to drive drunk has resulted in a senseless loss of life. The decision to drive drunk has also resulted in this 20 year old driver losing his future. The families affected…the friends…all just so avoidable.
I know my God is a forgiving God. He is merciful and full of grace but, even God, does not release us from consequences we have to bear as a result of poor choices.
- Romans 2:9 There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil
- Psalm 7:15-16 Whoever digs a hole and scoops it out
falls into the pit they have made. The trouble they cause recoils on them;
their violence comes down on their own heads - 1 Timothy 5:24 The sins of some are obvious, reaching the place of judgment ahead of them; the sins of others trail behind them.
- Galatians 6:7 Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.