Tuesday, December 04, 2007
More DUI drivers show up than MADD victims at vigil
San Diego drunk driving attorney news
Four days after a deadly drunk driving crash on the Watterson Expressway, Mothers Against Drunk Driving held its annual candlelight vigil Monday night. Victims of drunk drivers and their families showed up, as well as some people you might consider out of place.
Some 250 drunk drivers were there. The Jefferson County Attorney told them they had to be. Not so much as punishment, although that's part of it, but mostly for encouragement to never drink and drive again.
Jefferson County Attorney Irv Maze asked us not to interview the drunk drivers during the vigil because it is MADD's night, so we talked to those who pray they've learned their lesson.
"They're going to probably keep doing it unless it happens to them personally, but if their being here can change that, anything's possible, maybe they will change," said Louise Beman who survived being hit by a drunk driver in 1992. Her six-year old daughter, Brittany didn't.
Mary Jane Oswald's son, Trey, died the same way at the hands of a man who had already been arrested in Kentucky four times for DUI.
"Every year, the holidays are very hard knowing you're not going to have him with you," Oswald said.
Those sharing the room with Oswald and dozens of other victims families Monday night are considered first-time offenders.
"I think anybody who gets locked up for DUI should have to come to this," Oswald said.
Statistics can be easy to ignore or forget, but events like MADD's vigil that shows in dramatic detail how real lives are affected by real tragedies can have a real impact on DUI offenders.
Drunk drivers heard the names of victims while family members lit candles in their memory. This is supposed to help those in the DUI Diversion program change their lives before they destroy someone else's.
"We're getting through," Maze said. "I don't know exactly when it will come in focus, but as many efforts as you can make to show what the consequences are and the effects on the families, I want these folks to see it."
Maze says there's not a lot of options for first-time DUI offenders. According to state law, they have to pay a $100 fine. As an alternative, the county attorney created the DUI diversion program, which we profiled last week.
Attending the MADD vigil is one of the requirements for first time DUI offenders.
Four days after a deadly drunk driving crash on the Watterson Expressway, Mothers Against Drunk Driving held its annual candlelight vigil Monday night. Victims of drunk drivers and their families showed up, as well as some people you might consider out of place.
Some 250 drunk drivers were there. The Jefferson County Attorney told them they had to be. Not so much as punishment, although that's part of it, but mostly for encouragement to never drink and drive again.
Jefferson County Attorney Irv Maze asked us not to interview the drunk drivers during the vigil because it is MADD's night, so we talked to those who pray they've learned their lesson.
"They're going to probably keep doing it unless it happens to them personally, but if their being here can change that, anything's possible, maybe they will change," said Louise Beman who survived being hit by a drunk driver in 1992. Her six-year old daughter, Brittany didn't.
Mary Jane Oswald's son, Trey, died the same way at the hands of a man who had already been arrested in Kentucky four times for DUI.
"Every year, the holidays are very hard knowing you're not going to have him with you," Oswald said.
Those sharing the room with Oswald and dozens of other victims families Monday night are considered first-time offenders.
"I think anybody who gets locked up for DUI should have to come to this," Oswald said.
Statistics can be easy to ignore or forget, but events like MADD's vigil that shows in dramatic detail how real lives are affected by real tragedies can have a real impact on DUI offenders.
Drunk drivers heard the names of victims while family members lit candles in their memory. This is supposed to help those in the DUI Diversion program change their lives before they destroy someone else's.
"We're getting through," Maze said. "I don't know exactly when it will come in focus, but as many efforts as you can make to show what the consequences are and the effects on the families, I want these folks to see it."
Maze says there's not a lot of options for first-time DUI offenders. According to state law, they have to pay a $100 fine. As an alternative, the county attorney created the DUI diversion program, which we profiled last week.
Attending the MADD vigil is one of the requirements for first time DUI offenders.
# posted by SanDiegoDUI @ 4:48 PM 
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