We often hear about tragic crashes involving a drunk
driver and we only get a glimpse of the true effect it has on the victims and
their families. Life for them is changed in a matter of minutes with
the reverberations lasting a lifetime. The following is glimpse into the
life of a father and husband who had his life forever changed by a drunk driver.
This is John’s Story:
My Story, how a drunk driver changed my life
Life can change instantly
Yes, that’s right!, your life can change instantly. Sometimes it’s for the better, and as in this instance for the worse!
The date was April 24, 2009. I was working as a consultant overseas for a major oil company. After years of struggling to make a living, I was finally content with my career. I was only working 6 months out of the year, and making a decent living, with plenty of free time for my family.
We had just taken a vacation for a week in Paris, and my wife Barbara, and my kids, Adriana and Jackson had the time of their lives! Little did I know, it really was the time of their lives, and that this would be the last vacation we would ever take together. My daughter and son were very happy loving children. They could be a handful, just as any child can be, but they were the light of my life. My wife Barbara, was a very independent hard working woman, who had climbed the corporate ladder from minimum wage to close to a six figure salary in her career, and did so without a degree, although she was working on that and was almost finished with her degree when she passed away.
With a 6 hour time difference from where I worked to where I lived, it was early morning when I got the call… The call you never want to receive. It was a friend of mine who worked for the police department in the town I lived in. There had been an accident he said, and your wife passed away.. I was floored! What about my kids I asked?! They’ve been airlifted to the hospital in Houston, and we’re unresponsive. I had to get home! I had to take care of my kids!
Unfortunately, as i sat waiting for my travel plans to be drawn up, i received another call… It was my brother… My son Jackson had passed away on the operating table. All i had left was my precious daughter! I sent out a prayer request on Facebook, and via email to everyone I knew! I could feel parts of my soul dying as i typed the words! I hope no one ever experiences that feeling!
Say what you want about big oil companies, just don’t say it to me! ExxonMobil did everything short of chartering a jet to get me home quickly! On top of that, one of their employees, and my co-worker Mitch Morris, accompanied me all the way home, and took care of me on the trip! He then turned around, and flew back to Africa!…. Over 40 hrs in transit! So, once we got home, and he handed me off to my brother, I asked to go to the hospital to see my daughter. My brother looked me in the eye, and said ” it’s too late… She died while you were on your way home”. The emptyness in my soul at that moment was complete! My life before this moment was gone forever… Like having the ground disappear beneath you and falling into a bottomless pit they call Hell! For those of you who say Hell doesnt exist, trust me it does, and it can manifest itself on this earth!
Yes, that’s right!, your life can change instantly. Sometimes it’s for the better, and as in this instance for the worse!
The date was April 24, 2009. I was working as a consultant overseas for a major oil company. After years of struggling to make a living, I was finally content with my career. I was only working 6 months out of the year, and making a decent living, with plenty of free time for my family.
We had just taken a vacation for a week in Paris, and my wife Barbara, and my kids, Adriana and Jackson had the time of their lives! Little did I know, it really was the time of their lives, and that this would be the last vacation we would ever take together. My daughter and son were very happy loving children. They could be a handful, just as any child can be, but they were the light of my life. My wife Barbara, was a very independent hard working woman, who had climbed the corporate ladder from minimum wage to close to a six figure salary in her career, and did so without a degree, although she was working on that and was almost finished with her degree when she passed away.
With a 6 hour time difference from where I worked to where I lived, it was early morning when I got the call… The call you never want to receive. It was a friend of mine who worked for the police department in the town I lived in. There had been an accident he said, and your wife passed away.. I was floored! What about my kids I asked?! They’ve been airlifted to the hospital in Houston, and we’re unresponsive. I had to get home! I had to take care of my kids!
Unfortunately, as i sat waiting for my travel plans to be drawn up, i received another call… It was my brother… My son Jackson had passed away on the operating table. All i had left was my precious daughter! I sent out a prayer request on Facebook, and via email to everyone I knew! I could feel parts of my soul dying as i typed the words! I hope no one ever experiences that feeling!
Say what you want about big oil companies, just don’t say it to me! ExxonMobil did everything short of chartering a jet to get me home quickly! On top of that, one of their employees, and my co-worker Mitch Morris, accompanied me all the way home, and took care of me on the trip! He then turned around, and flew back to Africa!…. Over 40 hrs in transit! So, once we got home, and he handed me off to my brother, I asked to go to the hospital to see my daughter. My brother looked me in the eye, and said ” it’s too late… She died while you were on your way home”. The emptyness in my soul at that moment was complete! My life before this moment was gone forever… Like having the ground disappear beneath you and falling into a bottomless pit they call Hell! For those of you who say Hell doesnt exist, trust me it does, and it can manifest itself on this earth!
The next couple of days are a blur to me, as they had me sedated, or tanked up on Xanax. My family was very social and outgoing, so this affected the entire community where I live. We ended up having two funeral services… One public, and one private. I don’t really remember speaking at the funeral, but I was told that I did. I buried my entire family on April 30,2009. The next day was my birthday… Needless to say, I don’t celebrate my birthday anymore… It’s just the day after I buried my family now! July 4th isn’t the same, Halloween isn’t the same, thanksgiving isn’t the same… And Christmas?… I can’t even explain how hard that is!
The man who killed my family was found to be 5 times over the legal limit, and was a multiple repeat offender in regards to DWI. Every time they let this guy out, he did the same thing! He would steal a car, go on a crime spree, and travel across the country. On one hand, I’m so angry that he died! I wasn’t able to avenge their deaths! On the other hand, I know now, that God did this for a reason, for had he lived, I would have killed him, and more importantly, anyone who would have stood in my way! So his dying in the crash actually saved other innocent lives… Particularly those who were in law enforcement who would have been doing their job to protect him.
So, now my family is gone! My life forever changed! All because of a drunk driver. How has it changed? That is an entirely different post, as it just goes on and on.
I hope those of you who have read this reflect on your own lives. I hope it changes something in your life for the better! I hope none of you drink and drive ever again! You could end up a statistic, or you could cause someone like my family or myself to be a statistic! And trust me, you don’t want that!
The man who killed my family was found to be 5 times over the legal limit, and was a multiple repeat offender in regards to DWI. Every time they let this guy out, he did the same thing! He would steal a car, go on a crime spree, and travel across the country. On one hand, I’m so angry that he died! I wasn’t able to avenge their deaths! On the other hand, I know now, that God did this for a reason, for had he lived, I would have killed him, and more importantly, anyone who would have stood in my way! So his dying in the crash actually saved other innocent lives… Particularly those who were in law enforcement who would have been doing their job to protect him.
So, now my family is gone! My life forever changed! All because of a drunk driver. How has it changed? That is an entirely different post, as it just goes on and on.
I hope those of you who have read this reflect on your own lives. I hope it changes something in your life for the better! I hope none of you drink and drive ever again! You could end up a statistic, or you could cause someone like my family or myself to be a statistic! And trust me, you don’t want that!
DON’T DRINK AND DRIVE!
John Boggan
www.johnboggan.net
www.empowernetwork.com/johnboggan
www.johnboggan.net
www.empowernetwork.com/johnboggan
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