Sam's Death - Original Writing

Main Point II: Next I would like to talk about accidents and the potential dangers there are with drunk drivers on the road. I would like to start out by telling you a story that is written by Kathleen Buenemann, Donette's mother. On the night of August 8th, 1996, after finishing her shift at work, Donette was on her way home. A 29-year-old female left the "beer garden" at the county fair, around 11 PM. This girl had been there most of the night drinking. She managed to avoid the police and found her way through town in her Mercedes. Just outside of the city limits of town, she crossed the centerline and sideswiped a Jeep, the full length, and proceeded on across the line and hit my daughter's '95 Neon, nearly head-on. My daughter's car was spun around and flipped on the drivers side and slid down and embankment, and came to a rest. A 3rd car drove through the point of impact and was untouched. The 4th car was hit by the debris from my daughter's car, but no injuries there. My daughter had tried to move to the shoulder, but the other car continued on to hit her. Donette had her seat belt on and the air bags did deploy, but because of where the impact was the steering wheel went between the front seats so fast that the bag was of no use. Donette's head struck the A post and then the pavement when the car turned on its side. They said she died instantly of

Drunk driving is an issue that effects many people across our nation. People do not realize the affects alcohol can have on the body and mind that slow decision making while driving. This issue begins in the home. Children see their parents, or other adults figures, have a beer or a cocktail and get in the car. Thus, making it seem like it is acceptable to drink and drive. “One in three people will be involved in an alcohol-related crash in their lifetime” (MADD).

I remember being eight years old and looking out the window; my heart was heavy as I examined the giant crushed piece of metal sitting in my driveway. It looked as if a herd of thousand horses trampled viciously on top of my mom’s maroon colored Jeep Cherokee. It was clear to see my dad was drinking and driving again. All too often drivers decide to put their keys in the ignition, start the car, and head off onto public roads, despite the fact that their motor abilities and mental judgement has been impaired from drinking alcohol. Drinking and driving is a devastating crime that affects the lives of many. When people decide to drink and drive, they are at risk of getting their license suspended, getting

Evidence from the personal experience of teenagers is used (“…young drivers, only half said they had seen a peer drive after drinking…nearly all, however, said they had witnessed speeding…”); collective evidence (“It’s become a sad rite of passage in many American communities”); statistics (“The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has found that neophyte drivers of 17 have about a third as many accidents as their counterparts only a year younger”) and (“Between July 2004 and November 2006, only 12 provisional drivers were tickets for carrying too many passengers”). The author also used common mores on teen safety; (“…parents will tell you that raising the driving age is untenable, that kids need their freedom…perhaps the only ones who won’t make a fuss are those parents who have accepted diplomas at graduation because their children were no longer alive to do

It was an average day for the Jones family of Rockroad Drive. Laura and Billy Mr. and Mrs. Jones’s two youngest children were playing Soccer outside while their older sister Anna was in her room practicing her gymnastics and writing a new song for her band, The Galactic Wonders, to play at the upcoming school dance. Mr. Jones was downstairs watching the Dallas Cowboys on their flat screen television while Mrs. Jones was outside watching Laura and Billy play Soccer helping keep score when all of a sudden they heard a humongous squeal from Anna’s room. Mr. Jones ran up the steps as fast as he could to only find out that she had fallen off her bed while practicing her back tuck for gymnastics class and had probably broken her arm in

“I like summer.” Sammy stated. “I work at A&P because the owner is my parents’ friend” he added. He quickly realized what an embarrassing blunder he made. “Because the owner is my parents’ friend!” he repeated in his thought. Sammy felt childish. He knew his emotions got out of control and he felt awkward. The uncomfortable moment didn’t last long because somebody started passing Queenie’s car. The girl looked in the mirror and started laughing. She then started to speed up preventing the car from passing her. Sammy realized she was driving way too fast!

As a law enforcement officer specializing in juvenile intervention, I have on occasion witnessed first-hand the effect of pre-teen underage drinking. I have seen what happens when a 16y/o drinks, drives, and crashes their vehicles into other vehicles, poles, and in some cases other people.

Drunk driving is a major risk to yourself, to passengers and occupants sharing the road with you. Innocent bystanders could also suffer. Adding the risk of humans, there is also the damage to the vehicles involved and any other property into which they may crash. Drunk driving is considered a serious crime in every state. It wrong, irresponsible and destroys many lives. Many temptations are faced in college culture and one of them is underage drinking and driving. Underage drinking and driving has essentially become an epidemic, rapidly developing among today’s youth.(Kaplan) Some people don’t see underage drinking as an issue, when in fact it is a huge issue that every teenager will face. Unless we are able to put a stop to underage drinking and driving through education.

How would you feel if your child caused an accident while drunk driving? Driving under the influence is a huge problem for teenagers. Drunk driving is a problem in teens because they are inexperienced in both drinking and driving. This makes them unknown to the extent of what can happen to them or other people on the roads. Not having these experiences causes the teen to be curious about will these decisions impact their life, whether it is in a good or bad way. Secondly teenagers have the mindset that they are invincible and can drive under the influence without their being an incident that takes place. Drinking and driving also makes teenagers feel “cool” which makes them have the sense that nothing else matters besides what

If I’m honest here, I hardly remember my first car accident, but I can tell what parts I do remember. It was last September, my step-brother, Jerrick, was driving us and his friend home from school. I was on my phone, listening to music just ready to go home and most likely take a nap. I suppose how the story goes is that Jerrick was following the car in front of us at the intersection as they were turning. When we followed the light had apparently turned red thus the man in the other car hitting us. However, everyone says the guy that hit us was drunk, as apparently, he reeked of alcohol and he was speeding because if the light had just turned green, he couldn’t have been going fast enough to hit us at a speed that made the entire passenger side bend inward on itself.

“Do not do this, I’ll drive. I haven’t drank at all tonight.” Weston rolls his eyes and says, “Nothing is going to happen to me.” This proved to be wrong as at 2:32 AM, the police are knocking on Weston’s front door. His mom has not slept a wink, just waiting for her son to get home. As she opens the door, she hears the news that her son has passed away in a car wreck due to being intoxicated. For a few minutes, she is in an elusive state. Once she starts to comprehend that her son is really gone, she falls to the ground; her tears flooding the house. Unfortunately, situations like these are not uncommon. In an article called “Teens Driving Fact and Fatality Statistics” it describes how teens think that they are invincible, but a little under twenty teens die every day due to DUI crashes. This selfish act of drinking and driving could not only kill the driver, but random civilians on the road. Underage drinking does not just involve driving though. While many teens think drinking is harmless fun, it can lead to suspension of extracurriculars, health problems, and possibly death.

Many teens believe the words, “it’ll never happen to me”. It can always happen, especially when you least expect it. No one can escape tragedy or death. Driving while intoxicated has been an issue

Kyle Peterson was a graduate of Glidden-Ralston in 2010, and a day after his graduation party he was in a accident. To begin, the truck was rolled over twice, and Kyle was ejected from the driver side window and thrown into a field. After a hour of Kyle being unconscious, he finally could find his cell phone and call his dad. Once his parents got to the scene, they saw everything that unfolded. The truck was mangled, and there were pieces everywhere. The officer said that judging by the marks left on the road, he was traveling about 85 to 95mph when hitting the ditch. Kyle told the officer he swerved for a deer on the road, but that was a lie; he was actually very drunk and still smelled like alcohol. The cop tested him, and he was still one and a half over legal limit from the wreck. He got charged with reckless driving, Minor in Possession, and Driving Under Influence. According to Matthew Chambers from Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BOTS), a 0.08 blood alcohol concentration is limit for determining if drivers are driving under the influence (DUI) or driving while intoxicated (DWI). Walking away from the crash Kyle had a broken arm, lacerations to head, and a lower broken rib. This is one story of many about a family going through one terrifying night after receiving a call at 2 am from their son. A study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Teenage drivers are at a greater risk of death in an alcohol-related vehicle accident than any other population because of inexperience, invincible thinking, and impaired judgment caused by alcohol.

Two years later Bella is now fifteen years old going to high school. She lost her mom two years ago and her father died when she was born. She is now staying in an orphanage close to her school. A voice shouted from outside "Hurry up Bella, it’s already 7:30 we are going to be late!!!"