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Summary: Driving while under the influence of alcohol not only puts the driver at risk of serious bodily injury, but presents a significant public threat. Such irresponsible actions not only affect the driver, but often end in the death of innocent individuals.
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We’ll call him “Jack”. Jack grew up in a family culture enslaved to alcohol and the dysfunctions commonly associated with its abuse. He had been an alcoholic since his early teens. For decades Jack ignored the law and drove on the streets and highways of this country while legally drunk. His illegal actions finally caught up with him when one afternoon, he was arrested and charged with “Driving while under the influence.” Jack was convicted and sentenced to one year probation and DUI classes.
Week after week, Jack sat in the classroom as instructors did their best to impress upon him the dangers of driving while under the influence of alcohol. He was presented with the detrimental physical effects of alcohol on the human body and its long term effects on health and mental well being. Jack watched shockingly graphic videos of innocent victims being loaded into ambulances or body bags following horrific traffic accidents caused by drunk drivers. And he was told of the criminal penalties which awaited him if he ever again got behind the wheel of a car while under the influence of alcohol.
Less than a year after probation ended, Jack got behind the wheel of a car while intoxicated. Driving home late one night following a full day of drinking, Jack fell asleep at the wheel. His vehicle swerved into oncoming traffic and collided head-on with a pick-up truck transporting five occupants.
Due to dense fog and zero ground visibility, this single, two-vehicle collision initiated a chain reaction. By the time the smashups ended, the wreckage of more than twenty-three vehicles had been scattered for miles along a secluded stretch of highway. Rescue workers from five surrounding counties were called to the scene. Multiple agencies scrambled to mobilize the necessary emergency teams and equipment to care for the myriad of anticipated injuries.
The "Jaws of Life" were required to extract Jack’s body from the twisted wreckage of his own vehicle. He walked away from the scene with minor scrapes and bruises. The other three passengers in his truck sustained only minor injuries as well.
The seven occupants inside the cab of the other pick-up truck were not so fortunate. Six of the seven passengers were seriously injured and air-lifted to the nearest hospital for treatment. And a three-month-old infant sleeping in his mother’s arms was killed instantly upon impact.
Jack was arrested and subsequently stood trial for second degree murder. The District Attorney denied his plea for a lesser charge of manslaughter because of Jack’s prior DUI record. Prosecuting attorneys believed Jack understood the dangers, ignored the risk, chose to drink, chose to drive, and subsequently killed another human being. The jury agreed and Jack was convicted of second-degree murder. He is still serving his sentence in a state prison.
This tragic story represents real events caused by the decision of one man to drink and drive. But Jack’s story is more common than many realize. Consider the statistics from the website of “Mothers Against Drunk Drivers”:[1]
· Kids who start drinking young are seven times more likely to be in an alcohol-related crash.
· An average a drunk driver has driven drunk 87 times before their first arrest.
· One in three will be involved in an alcohol-related crash in their lifetime.
· Every minute, one person is injured from an alcohol-related crash.
· In California, every 50 minutes someone dies in a drunk-driving crash.
If you know anyone who has been injured by a drunk driver please see www.madd.org for assistance and support.
If you have been the cause of such injury and have found mercy, forgiveness and healing through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, will you consider sharing your story with others so they too can know and receive God’s healing touch?
[1] http://www.madd.org/statistics/
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