Drunk Driving
Content
Dear Bereaved, ³How dare I?´ must be the words going through your head as you read this. How dare the murderer of my loved one write me, attempting to explain himself, making an effort to rectify his murder, trying to win me over and make me loathe him less. It¶s true, how dare I write you? But if I did not, then you would never hear the words of the man who murdered your loved one. I would never be able to try to share the facts, the terrible feelings of guilt that will stain my mind for my entire life. You will still loathe me, and the words I write may be empty, but perhaps by the end of this essay I will be able to convey why I did what I did, the repercussions of what I did, both for my career and life, and how I would honestly rather be the one who died in that terrible accident rather than even come near your loved one¶s car. Let me begin with the understanding that no matter what apologetic words I offer, whatever condolences that I wish, and however many times I try to explain myself, the sorrow you must be experiencing for the loss of your loved one cannot be subdued by words typed from their murderer. Yes, murderer. I use the term with legitimacy. Murderer in the fact that I took your loved one¶s life, and, at the time, was without sorrow, without remorse, without guilt. The opposite in fact, I was full of life, full of vigor, and without any doubt; full of alcohol. Your loved one was killed by me while I was intoxicated behind the wheel of a moving vehicle. A long night downtown full of promise of loose women and good times turned out to be possibly the worst thing I have ever done in my entire life. Choosing to get behind the wheel of my automobile after imbibing several drinks causing my eventual inebriation was the worst decision that I have ever made in my life, and a decision that was fatal for your loved one. A few drinks, a long night, and a destructive path led to the ultimate demise of that person who you held dear. You may possibly know, drinking can make you feel invincible, it can make you feel a sense of euphoria and excitement that comes with the beers and shots that follow a night of hard drinking at a crowded bar scene downtown. With this sense of invincibility, I drunkenly staggered to my car and turned on the ignition for possibly the last time in my life. I swerved out of the parking lot without thinking, without realizing what I was doing at the time. An hour later, two cars collided on the highway. One person was badly injured and the other was killed instantly on collision. Aside from the terrible pangs of guilt and regret that I feel every day, my life as I know it is over. My Naval career, to which I have spent countless hours of hard work investing towards, is over. I will serve several years in a federal penitentiary where I will be trapped in a cell and in that cell I will be forced to relive the events to which put me in that prison, and your loved one in another place. For this alone, I believe my life is
actually comparable to your son¶s. This would seem an obscene comparison, but my life in the present and life in the future are over. Whatever job I may apply to, wherever I may go, my resume will be stained with the fact that I spent time in jail. ³Why did I go to jail?´ the prospective employer will wonder. Murder. Vehicular manslaughter. The trial has not ended, so I am not sure what I will be convicted of, but for such a transgression, life would not be out of the question. Why did I do this? After realizing the repercussions? After understanding and being told again and again, year after year, that driving under the influence will lead to nothing but regret, I still did it. Penalties have steadily risen over the years, and alcohol related deaths are at a level that is completely unacceptable. In 2007, there were 15,387 fatalities due to driving under the influence. I have been told only way to drink, is to have plan before you go out. Designated drivers, staying over at a friends house, or giving your car keys to someone that would not let you drive home. Public transportation or a cab would have been the simplest ways of making it to my destination without any incident. Every 30 minutes someone in this country is killed in an alcohol related accident. Last year alone, over one million people were injured in alcohol related accidents. Almost one in every three Americans will be involved in an alcohol related accident in sometime in their life, and I now that I understand and realize these facts, I find them completely unacceptable. What¶s even more horrific is how one third of the people convicted of drunk driving in the United States are repeated offenders. What¶s even more incredible, is the predicted estimate that as many as 76% of convicted drunk drivers continue to drive with a suspended license. More than 40% of teenage deaths occur in car accidents, such as your loved one. In New York State there were 1674 deaths in alcohol related accident in 2007. Let me end and stop assaulting you with my woes, for your must be far greater. The loss of a loved one, not for a cause for which many my follow servicemen have died for, not for a reason to which would have substantiated his death, but for a reckless, ignorant and blatant disregard for life to which I will and have been held accountable. It is my hope that the horrific thing that I have done will be used as a lesson for those in the future, so others do not make the same fatal mistake that I did and take the life of another for no reason at all. My deepest apologies and most heartfelt act of contrition. My sincere and complete remorse. May God bless you and your son. May God forgive me for what I have done.
actually comparable to your son¶s. This would seem an obscene comparison, but my life in the present and life in the future are over. Whatever job I may apply to, wherever I may go, my resume will be stained with the fact that I spent time in jail. ³Why did I go to jail?´ the prospective employer will wonder. Murder. Vehicular manslaughter. The trial has not ended, so I am not sure what I will be convicted of, but for such a transgression, life would not be out of the question. Why did I do this? After realizing the repercussions? After understanding and being told again and again, year after year, that driving under the influence will lead to nothing but regret, I still did it. Penalties have steadily risen over the years, and alcohol related deaths are at a level that is completely unacceptable. In 2007, there were 15,387 fatalities due to driving under the influence. I have been told only way to drink, is to have plan before you go out. Designated drivers, staying over at a friends house, or giving your car keys to someone that would not let you drive home. Public transportation or a cab would have been the simplest ways of making it to my destination without any incident. Every 30 minutes someone in this country is killed in an alcohol related accident. Last year alone, over one million people were injured in alcohol related accidents. Almost one in every three Americans will be involved in an alcohol related accident in sometime in their life, and I now that I understand and realize these facts, I find them completely unacceptable. What¶s even more horrific is how one third of the people convicted of drunk driving in the United States are repeated offenders. What¶s even more incredible, is the predicted estimate that as many as 76% of convicted drunk drivers continue to drive with a suspended license. More than 40% of teenage deaths occur in car accidents, such as your loved one. In New York State there were 1674 deaths in alcohol related accident in 2007. Let me end and stop assaulting you with my woes, for your must be far greater. The loss of a loved one, not for a cause for which many my follow servicemen have died for, not for a reason to which would have substantiated his death, but for a reckless, ignorant and blatant disregard for life to which I will and have been held accountable. It is my hope that the horrific thing that I have done will be used as a lesson for those in the future, so others do not make the same fatal mistake that I did and take the life of another for no reason at all. My deepest apologies and most heartfelt act of contrition. My sincere and complete remorse. May God bless you and your son. May God forgive me for what I have done.
