Parents Can Learn From the Biehls
* The two sides of Newport Beach:
Your Aug. 1 story about the former Newport Beach couple, Peter and Linda Biehl, was a beautiful tribute to them and their openhearted forgiveness to the young men who, in the heat of apartheid, killed their daughter, Amy.
On the other side of the coin, I could not stop thinking about the tragic accident of a group of Newport Beach youngsters last year. In this instance, the parents of some of the youngsters are suing the designated driver. What are teenagers doing with a “designated driver” in the first place? In this case, perhaps the driver was the least culpable of the group and has had to bear most of the guilt and retribution.
The police stopped the car earlier and found beer but did nothing but confiscate the beer and send them on their way. Later, too many people were crowded in the car so that not everyone could have a seat belt.
It occurred to me that the parents of these youngsters and the police are as much to blame if not more so than the driver. Do these parents not recognize that perhaps it should have been their responsibility to bring up their teenagers to obey both drinking and traffic laws? Or is it their guilt that makes them seek revenge elsewhere?
JUDITH ODLUM
Irvine
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