A Life Cut Short by a Drunk Driver

One year ago this month a fatal crash occurred in Huntington Beach on Edwards Hill. Because a young man chose to drink and drive, my 19-year-old daughter, Stacey, paid the ultimate price: She paid with her life.

Maybe some people remember that day in April. Maybe some don’t. When we’re not personally involved, we have a tendency to forget, as we also have a tendency to block out unpleasant things. But drinking and driving is something we cannot block out or forget, because as unpleasant as it is, you could be next. We have no guarantees.

It seems that drinking and driving has become an epidemic, and it does not discriminate over who its next victim will be. It could be you, your child, your neighbor or your friend. I wouldn’t want you or your family to be sitting in a hospital all night praying for a miracle to happen and hear over a loudspeaker, “Code Blue ICU.”

Life is not like a car or a broken toy that we can fix or replace. Life is very fragile, and it is something we must not take for granted.

Stacey, like most young people, made plans and set goals for herself. She was a bass and guitar player, and her second record album was near release. She was looking forward to a very bright future, but Stacey’s plans were cut short--because someone chose to drink and drive.

Before you drink and drive or drive with anyone who has been drinking, think of Stacey and the countless number of other innocent victims who can no longer speak for themselves.

Think of their families who are left with only memories and a broken heart, left with only dreams of what used to be and what will never be. Remember these people, and “don’t drink and drive.”

SANDRA J. MOSKEWICH

Huntington Beach