Stern Warning for Drunk Drivers

Motorists are constantly being bombarded with the well-meaning and sound advice not to drink and drive. Each day they see and hear of tragic and avoidable accidents, and the needless grief and wrecked lives that drunk driving causes. But still, too many motorists continue to ignore the obvious and mix alcohol and automobiles, endangering everyone else on the road.

Every so often something happens to make them think of the deadly consequences of drunk driving, and, if not about their responsibility behind the wheel, at least their liability.

One such sobering experience occurred Oct. 23, 1984, in Fullerton when Pamela Trueblood, 36, and her three children were killed by a drunk driver.

Another happened last June when that same drunk driver, Michael W. Reding, 27, of Fullerton was convicted by a jury of four counts of second-degree murder. It was the first time in Orange County history that anyone was convicted of murder in connection with drunk driving.

And again Sept. 12 when Reding was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison by Superior Court Judge James L. Smith. In passing sentence, Smith, responding to suggestions from Reding’s attorneys that prosecutors had singled Reding out as a warning to the public, took pains to explain that Reding was “not a whipping boy who has been selected to make a point . . . is not a sacrifice on the altar of justice.” The judge recalled that Reding “killed four people” and said that “his conduct was reprehensible.”

We don’t question that Smith passed sentence on the facts of the case and not as some object lesson. But what is also evident is a growing public impatience with drinking drivers, and a growing toughness on the part of the Legislature, prosecutors, juries and some judges.

Reding was not sentenced to send a message. But his lengthy prison sentence, as prescribed by law, should, as a practical matter, discourage some people from drinking and driving. It at least serves as a stern reminder that those who do drive drunk will be held accountable.