Underage Drunk Driving When Will It Stop Leslie

Underage Drunk Driving When Will It Stop? Leslie Esparagoza

Underage Drunk Driving Statistics • Car accidents are the leading cause of death for teens in the United States. • 37, 261 people died in car accidents in 2008. • 32% of those deaths were caused by alcohol-impaired accidents. • 1, 510 youth under age 21 were involved in alcoholimpaired fatalities. • 4 underage people die each day in alcohol-impaired driving crashes.

When Will It Stop? ? • Underage drunk driving has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives. • The consequences are known yet teens continue to disregard the fact that DRUNK DRIVING KILLS. • How many lives will be enough for teens to listen? One million? One trillion? • This NEEDS to STOP NOW.

It Won’t Happen To Me… I was guilty of being one of those people who believed this statement. But I Stopped. Because on February 18, 2006 I realized…… Anything Can Happen.

Meet My Friend, Eddel Rivera was a wonderful young lady with a bright future ahead of her. She was currently a senior at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and was planning to attend Medical School.

But she never got to fulfill those plans. She didn’t even make it to graduation. Because all her dreams were abruptly ended when a routine drive home turned fatal.

Meet The Drunk Driver Brock Franklin, 18 was a senior at Myers Park High School. He was just like any other normal teenager like you and me.

February 18, 2006 Brock went to a party with other Myers Park students and drank heavily. In the early morning hours Brock decided to drive home DRUNK

On his way home, he drove on Interstate 485 THE WRONG WAY And had a head-on collision with the carrying Eddel and her fiancée, Richard Bryant.

Her car burst into FLAMES Instantly killing them both, leaving nothing but Ashes.

Tragedy Struck • Unbearable pain overwhelmed families and friends as they learned of the sudden tragic loss of their child and friend. • His decision to drink and drive affected and hurt so many people.

His Drunk Driving Ruined Their Lives • “My son is dead. I will never be able to bowl with him, shoot pool with him- do anything with him…” • “They had a wonderful future ahead of them and it’s cut off thanks to some silly drinking, disrespect for law and people. My whole world has been shattered. ” • Eddel’s parents lost their only child. • At the funeral, Eddel’s mother was screaming and had to be pulled away because she was so distraught.

His Drunk Driving Ruined His Own Life Brock had a. 12 alcohol level which is well above the legal drinking level of. 08. He was charged with second degree murder. At the earliest, Brock will be thirty years old before he is released from prison; thus, postponing his college education and youth.

Consequences • When he is released he will not be able to drive. • He will also have to pay a large sum of money for court costs and restitutions for the families of his two victims. Even worse, he will have to live with the guilt of killing two innocent people for the rest of his life.

Additional Consequences…. • • 1. Suspended Driver’s License 2. Juvenile Detention 3. Prison 4. Attorney Fees 5. Court Costs 6. Probation 7. Serious Injuries and fatalities

Brock Franklin got a 12 -15 year sentence in prison. But… Eddel Rivera and Richard Bryant got a DEATH SENTENCE.

Choices • Brock Franklin wasn’t a bad guy. He was just a guy who made a bad People make bad decision. That is the danger of drinking and driving. It is just too severe to be taken lightly. decisions daily but the difference is that this bad decision ended up killing two innocent people and ruined the lives of countless others.

Keep In Mind…. Jacqueline Saburido, a true inspiration

Want To Avoid These Consequences Completely? • 1. Bring a designated driver ahead of time- someone you know who won’t drink at the party so they will be able to drive you and your friends home. • 2. If you’re at a party and you had more to drink than expected, then CALL someone to come pick you up or ride with someone at the party who is sober. • 3. If you see someone who is about to drive home and you think they have had too much to drink to be able to drive TAKE AWAY THEIR KEYS AND DO NOT LET THEM home safely, you must

Remember • Drunk driving accidents aren’t only on the news; they don’t only happen in far away places to some random families you’ve never heard of. It can happen to ANYONE even YOU.

Most Important Lesson • When you choose to drink only you will have to deal with the consequences (hangover, embarrassing yourself, regretting your actions etc. ) • When you choose to drink AND DRIVE you are endangering the lives of innocent people and making them pay for the consequences of YOUR actions. That is not fair.

For The Sake Of All The Lost Loved Ones And Ruined Lives, PLEASE DON’T DRINK AND DRIVE. EVER.

In Remembrance of Eddel Rivera and Richard Bryant You will forever live in our hearts. May your story serve as a lesson to guide others away from making the same disastrous decision. We Miss You. We Love You. Rest In Peace.