DWI Hit Parade!

From the left are Luke Weichbrod (Executive Director), Adaora Okigbo, David Young and Willa Murphy. You can read the winning essays on our website.

Ralph Homer faces prison for killing his pal while driving drunk
From KTVV
Las Vegas, NV (KTNV) – The parents of a local college student killed in a drunk driving crash last week hope their son’s death serves as a reminder of the perils of drunk driving.
A memorial service is planned for Friday night to honor 19-year-old Leo “Trae” Roybal who was the victim of the crash last week on the west side of the Valley.
The service will be at Epic Church (8755 W. Warm Springs) at 7 p.m.
Proceeds will benefit MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving).
“Nothing will ever bring back our son. It just hurts so bad,” grieves Bernie Roybal.  “Drinking and driving –we’ve got to stop it. We’ve got to figure out a way to teach people that drinking and driving kills.”
Danette and Bernie Roybal, Trae’s parents, describe him as athletic, smart, and musically talented.
The 19-year-old died when the car he was riding in lost control and crashed…..MORE

Idaho Press-Statesman
Shawn Marti’s death at hands of drunken driver in 2003 motivates Angela Boyle to volunteer on victim panel
CANYON COUNTY — Shawn Marti displayed a gift for music and studied psychology at Boise State because he wanted to help people live better lives.
That was before a drunken driver traveling the wrong way on Interstate 84 in Caldwell smashed head on into Marti’s car, instantly killing him and his 5-month-old daughter, Sage, and severely injuring his wife Natalie.
The tragedy that happened Feb. 27, 2003, forever changed the life of many people, including Marti’s sister Angela Boyle of Nampa. Boyle has told the story of her personal loss at high schools, colleges and drivers education classes in an attempt to make people realize the potential consequences of driving drunk. She also runs the Canyon County Mothers Against Drunk Driving victims panel where loved ones of victims of drunken driving accidents tell DUI offenders about the horrors that can come from their actions.
“Sometimes we have to live with other people’s choices, not just our own,” Boyle, a 37-year-old mother of four, said.  ….MORE

From WFMY News
Jamestown, NC — Two victims of drunk driving crashes, who never met, are now linked by what they’ve left behind.
In 2007, Casey Bokhoven was hit and killed by former WXII News anchor Tolly Carr.
In the same year, Emily Kennedy was killed when she was a passenger in her friend’s car. The driver, her friend, was drunk.
Now, Carr and Kennedy’s mother, Becky Kennedy, are working together to make a difference.
They’ve teamed up to make a film about a fictional crash and the resulting death and guilt, to keep others from experiencing their pain.  ….MORE

Why did the barmaid at this bar fail to cut off this intoxicated patron, fail to take his keys, fail to call police?  MONEY TALKS! He was spending money.  Its all about greed. 
From Times Union
Sitting in his village of Nassau patrol car that night, Officer Bill Dikant heard a call crackling over the police radio summoning a medical examiner to the scene of a car crash on Route 9J.
“It’s a bad one,” he said to himself.
Later that night, his sergeant called him back to the station and gave him the news: his wife and three children were being rushed to a hospital by ambulance.
They had been in one of the wrecked cars. This was Dec. 29, 1979, a frozen night that remains frozen in Dikant’s memory.
Thursday night, he recalled the horror and the anger that still lingers as he joined a panel of victims of drunken drivers, victims who told their anguishing tales to an audience that included those convicted of DWI. ….MORE
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From The Press Democrat
Debbi Rath was not a natural public speaker. She was the kind of student whose palms sweated just thinking about reading out loud in class.
But everything changed when her 19-year-old son was struck and killed by a drunken driver in 2004.
“The person I was before that night, that person is gone,” said Rath, who has been a paramedic with American Medical Response/Sonoma Life Support since 1995.
She now speaks about the dangers of drunken driving before high school assemblies, health classes, ….MORE

From Rory’s Unfinished Business
Rory Joseph Weichbrod was tragically killed on October 10, 2010 by a drunk driver while crossing the street with a friend. Rory was a happy and healthy 26-year old young man, whose life was taken by a selfish individual who decided to drink, drive, and speed down the road.
Rory’s life was cut short as a result of one man’s decision to drink and drive recklessly….MORE

From Times Union blog Pay it Forward by Mary Kenney reflecting on the crash on Sunday in which a man killed his son and the son’s girlfriend….
It was New Year’s Eve, 1981. I was 10 years old. My friend Mary Beth was visiting for the weekend. Mary Beth and I walked down my street to my friend Becky’s house and knocked on the door. “Is Becky home?” I asked her mother.
“No. She’s over Sarah’s house, but Sarah’s brother is supposed to be driving her home around 5:00 if you want to come back.” Becky and I had not spoken for a year because of some silly fight we had about something that I can’t even remember. I wanted to invite her over my house that night for New Years Eve. My parents were having company, and I missed my friend.   ….MORE

From SILive.com

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. – Staten Island has suffered much heartbreak due to the number of fatalities caused by individuals — many underage — who’ve made the reckless decision to get behind the wheel of a car after drinking too much.
It’s something we’re reminded of as holidays like the Fourth of July approach and the drinks flow at barbecues and other summertime gatherings. Accidents can happen in a flash; lives can be lost in an instant. Today, we offer two tales of love and loss in the hope it will inspire others to consider the consequences before drinking and driving.
Five years later, Charles and Mary Ann Edkins still feel the pain of their daughter Mariana’s death. The Annadale resident was killed in a horrific auto accident in Woodrow when an SUV driven by John Sambuco of Rossville slammed into the sedan the 18-year-old was riding in on Jan. 10, 2006. ….MORE