Way too Costly

http://www.king5.com/news/local/Washington-man-charged-with-wrong-way-crash-that-killed-truck-driver--118808074.html

by WFAA.com, KING5.com

Posted on March 28, 2011 at 4:02 PM

Updated Monday, Mar 28 at 8:30 PM

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FORT WORTH, Texas — A Washington state man was identified as the wrong-way driver of a car that slammed into a tanker on a Texas highway Monday morning, setting off a massive explosion that killed the truck driver.

Fort Worth police said they have charged the alleged wrong-way driver — Louis Nieves, 23 — with intoxication manslaughter. He is behind bars at the Fort Worth jail after being treated at the hospital for his injuries

This crash was not only costly in that it took a man his life but also will prove costly to the state and to those affected by the closure of the roadway. The cost to the victim’s family is immeasurable what they lost can never be replaced, the cost to the state will be in the MILLIONS and this at a time when were facing cuts to the state’s budget. Then there are those that are being affected by the time and effort it will take to repair the damage to the roadway and bridge at a time when gas prices are the highest that most of us have ever seen and we are all being affected by them. Now people who live in that area will have to use more fuel to drive the extra miles during the repairs. This crash will in a few days fade into history for just about everyone but for the family of the victim, they will just be starting a journey no one should ever have to take.

 Drunk driving has been so costly across our country and unfortunately on the top of that list is Texas.  I always imagined that Texas was the biggest and best state, but leading the country in drunk driving crashes and fatalities was never part of that image. I know that there are a lot of reasons people drink and each person has their view when it comes to drinking but we all know that driving after doing so is wrong.  But knowing is not enough we as society need to stop being so self concerned and consider the safety of others, we must learn live outside of ourselves because when it comes down to it all we truly have is each other.

 Everyone must do their part to help to bring drunk driving to an end, there is too much at stake. It’s as simple as saying no, we can say no to those that would continue to commit this crime.  When asked if you want to go out for a drink or any other invitation they may extend to you knowing that they see no wrong in driving drunk.  Don’t be a part of the problem by standing there in silence as you watch a crime, a very dangerous crime about to be committed that is the moment to act. When those around you see that you disapprove of something most tend to stop that behavior. The same applies to business, when it is known that an establishment is more concerned about the sales numbers for the night rather than the safety of the public, its better not to be a customer there.  I think that we forget sometimes that even the most established business needs us the costumer not the other way around. So when it comes to the safety of the public we can speak volumes just by not being a patron.  The crash in the Dallas/fort worth area has left a family without a father, husband, brother and son.  We don’t see how valuable someone is until we look at all that they were and sadly that is when we wish that we could have done something to save them.

 Today we live in a world of uncertainty with so many things happening that are beyond our control, but This (drunk driving) is one thing that we can take control of and bring to an end. We can do the responsible thing and consider others when it comes to making choices in our lives and we can give our law enforcement the tools they need to help them address this crime.( sobriety checkpoints and ignition interlocks for first offenders and consistency when it come to punishment for offenders ) and the most important is that we the citizens of this state stand up and speak up that we will no longer put up with this crime. Enough is Enough.        

From the Backseat.

    Driving to the store one day all of a sudden what felt like a punch in the gut came from the backseat in the form of a question from my 5 yr old daughter. She asked where in the sky is heaven and how old was her brother when he was killed.  With the window cracked open a little bit she stretched up from her booster seat to yell threw the crack “I miss you Matthew!” and “please come back to us!”

These are the things that no one sees, the aftermath of a drunk driving crash. What makes things even harder is knowing what took them from you was a totally preventable crime. As the days after the crash pass one by one and it seems as though the distance between us and them gets greater every day. It feels like a bell that is rung that continues to reverberate until the sound can no longer be heard, but in this case the reverberations never go silent. I know that one day in the future that my daughter’s children will ask her about us, her parents and her aunt and uncle. She will tell them about us and then she’ll mention that she had two brothers but one died when she was one yrs old. Then the questions will come about what was his name, how old was he and what happened to him.

And I pray that the rest of the conversation goes something like this;

            He was killed in a crash caused by a drunk driver.

            What’s a drunk driver mom?

            Back then people would go out and drink a drug called alcohol to make themselves feel good.

 Then get in their cars and drive.

            Why would they do that and what is drive?

A lot of different reasons, some to get away from their problems for a little while or to make themselves feel happier or relaxed, but that only lasted for a little while then the feeling went away and they were back where they started. But now very few people drink alcohol especially since people started see how bad it was for them and that it made a lot of people sick, and back then you would have to control the car to make it go where you wanted. If people were drunk people could hardly control themselves let alone a car but now cars do all the driving so the roads are a lot safer.

This I hope is what the future hold, but today we still have people drinking and driving, and with that comes the tragic and devastating aftermath of this crime.

Until the day we bring drunk driving to its end there will be little sister missing her brother. Mother and Father who wish that as they open the door to their home their children would be there to greet them, a wife who saw her husband off to work one early morning but never saw him again. And Best friends separated in death only to be reunited a year later due to the lasting effect of the crash the both suffered. But none of that matters to the guy walking out of the bar saying to those he’s leaving behind “I’m ok, anyway I’m not going far.” /\/\/\/\/\/\/\~_________

A letter to My little mister

Matthew

I was at work today when I came around a corner and saw a little boy who reminded me a lot of you. He was wearing a red shirt and blue jeans just like you use to love to do. As I walked passed him I had to look away because it was too hard to hide how much I miss you. I walked around hoping not to run into anyone. If I had and they had asked I would have broken down and said that I miss my son.  I think about you all the time but it when those unexpected memories come around the bend that it hits me strong like a cold winter wind. I get mad at what happened to you and I think about all my friends that are going through the same pain. I think of how there are daughters that will never walk thru the front door of their moms house with a smile and say hi mom or walk up to their dads and give them a hug and a kiss. I think about the phone call from the son just calling to check in that never comes and about the husband that never made it home from work and every brother, sister, husband, wife, son, daughter, father, mother, friend  and relatives that were lost to this senseless crime. I think of all the people hurting from a pain that should have never been. I think about how different this world was when they were all here and how that all changed because someone had too much beer. Being Selfish is what leads people to drink and drive they tend to put themselves and what they want to do instead of worrying what could happen to people like me and you.  I wish that I could have protected you that night but there was nothing I could do to save you so now I fight to bring change and I will until the day that I get to see you again. I miss you my Matthew.

Love

DAD   

A Step Forward

        The City of San Antonio has taken a proactive approach to dealing with the issue of drunk driving. In a briefing the police chief outlined the steps the S.A.P.D has and intends to take to address the crime of driving while intoxicated (DWI). Part of the briefing was to ask the city council supports legislation that addresses drunk driving, which they did so the next day.  The bills were:

•     House Bill No. 99   Aggravated DWI,
•     House Bill No. 439 Sobriety Checkpoints,
•      House Bill No. 473 Ignition Interlock for 1st time DWI offenders.

         Just before for the 81^st legislature convened in 2009, I started to visit our council members trying to get them to pass a resolution in support of sobriety checkpoints. I had mentioned that to the chief in a meeting and He stated that if I was able to convince them to do that he would go up the Austin to testify for them. I visited quite a few council members that year but was not able to make any progress. The legislature convened and I decided to focus on getting them to support the bill, which made it further then it has ever been in the legislative process but needless to say it didn’t become a law.

         In April 25 of 2010 my neighbors’ oldest and only remaining son Petey along with his friends Eric Pena and Lauren Deleon were killed by a drunk driver. Their youngest son Ricky had been killed four years earlier in the same drunk driving crash that had killed my son Matthew and nearly killed me. In both crashes the drivers were young and not hard core drunks and both suffered minor injuries. After Petey’s crash and the shock that came from it I thought to myself that this time I was not going to back down and do all that I could to get the support needed to get sobriety checkpoints here in Texas.  I contacted the chief and asked if he was still willing to go to Austin to testify and after he got word back to me that he would, I began to petition the city council members for their support.

         Then on the 1^st of February I got a call from the chief and he told me that the next day he would be briefing to city council and the mayor about getting the city to support some DWI legislation this 82^nd legislature including sobriety checkpoints and that he would be going to Austin to provide testimony on behalf of them. He invited me to attend the meeting and the day after the briefing city council unanimously voted to support the legislation. I think this is a great step towards getting drunk driving under control and one step closer to elimination. Thanks to Chief McManus and the San Antonio City Council.

One battle won but the war still rages and lives are still on the line, forward and onward.

           

Edward  

Punishment of 1st time DWI offenders

            Just before the holidays began we started to hear about the proposed bill that would be filed this legislative session. One of those was deferred adjudication for first time DWI offenders. So when I heard that it was being proposed I was more than upset, that those that committed this crime were going to be getting a slap on the hand and that it was not going to be helping anything. I kept thinking to myself what the heck and that we don’t need to go easy on people that drink and drive. What we need is laws that will make people avoid drinking and driving not give them a get out of jail free card.

            As I was looking for news stories about DWI to post on our Facebook page I came across a story from Houston. It was a Khou.com that was posted on the 2^nd of December the title read:

“11 News I-Team: Harris Co. judge stands up against program that expunges first DWI offense.”

            I watched the video to the story and then really got extremely angry, what the heck is going on in Texas. We’re one of the worst states in dealing with drunk driving and we’re letting people get away with it. The story talked about the DIVERT program (DIVERT stands for Direct Intervention using Voluntary Education Restitution and Treatment.) that it gives 1^st  time DWI offender the chance to have the DWI cleared of record after they complete treatment and pay fines and stay out of trouble of a set period of time. The judge in the story refused to take part in the program; he stated that it was a form of deferred adjudication, which is not legally allowed by Texas law.

            The story goes on to mention that not only the judge was opposed to it but that MADD was against it. So when I heard that the deferred adjudication bill was going to be introduced and that MADD supported it I thought, has the whole world gone mad now?  So I started to research deferred adjudication and prepared to oppose it and have the DIVERT program banned.

          I wanted to see the bill and knew that Rep Todd Smith had planned to file the bill, looked it up and found that it had been filed in early November and pulled it up and started to review it.  One of The first things that caught my attention was that anyone who is placed on deferred adjudication must have an ignition interlock device in their car.  The Next thing was, if a person was granted deferred adjudication they could not have it cleared from their record.  Finally and thankfully it read that a deferred adjudication for a DWI offense would be considered a conviction if they were charge with another DWI offense. So unlike the DIVERT program the first DWI offense would be on the record as a conviction and could be used to increase the punishment for the second DWI.

         After looking over the bill I think that it is a better alternative than what is happening now. The divert program and having prosecutors  allow offenders to plea down to obstructing of a public highway ( A Class B Misdemeanor[1]) just to be able to get some kind of punishment for a DWI offender. I 'd like to see a mandatory weekend jail term of 1st time DWI offender’s, maybe that would give those that actually are 1st timers the shock that is needed to keep them from doing it again.  All in all what I know is that this fight to bring drunk driving to an end will unfortunately be a tough and drawn out one but one I’m willing to fight. 

Edward

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[1] Sec. 12.22.  CLASS B MISDEMEANOR.  An individual adjudged guilty of a Class B misdemeanor shall be punished by:(1)  a fine not to exceed $2,000;

     (2)  confinement in jail for a term not to exceed 180 days; or

     (3)  Both such fine and confinement.