The Tragedy of Drunk Driving

Two articles appearing in the Kansas City Star within the last week once again remind us of the unnecessary tragedy caused by drunk driving.

On February 19, 1010, the Star reported on a local man being sentenced in Oklahoma to 150 years in prison as a result of a drunk driving accident that left three members of one family dead. His pickup truck crossed the centerline of an Oklahoma highway in October of 2008 and crashed into an oncoming pickup. A father and his two adult sons were killed.

On February 23, 2010, the Star reported that a local man has been charged in Jackson County Circuit Court with drunk driving, involuntary manslaughter and second-degree assault arising from a crash that killed two and seriously injured a third passenger in his vehicle last September.

Two of the deceased victims were thrown from vehicle when it hit a utility pole at Independence Avenue and Bales. The third victim suffered a fractured spine.

The driver was found to have a blood alcohol level of .14. The legal limit in both Missouri and Kansas is .08.
Here are two examples of drunk driving ruining many lives. Five people are dead. One has been seriously injured. Two drunk drivers are in some serious legal trouble. All of their families are victims too.

Although the criminal justice system has pursed the drivers and civil damage claims are most certainly being made, no one will ever be the same after these unnecessary accidents.

We all need to think before driving or riding with someone after drinking. No one intends for accidents like this to happen, but they do.