Yesterday, the coroner's inquest was held for the death of my brother. It was ruled an accident, blunt force trauma to the body being the official cause of death. My brother was not wearing his seatbelt, and was ejected from the truck he was driving. The coroner also told us that Dave was gone before he ever hit the ground, he had died instantly when his neck had broken, he listed blunt force trauma to the body as the official cause of death due to the fact that Dave's body was struck by the truck as it rolled end over end after he was ejected. The coroner told us that there was no need to read through every injury sustained, it would be too hard for the family members in attendance. There was a copy of the coroner's report given to the family, we read part of it. It went on to describe, in detail, the injuries. ( At this point I want to thank the wonderful people who attended to my brother at the funeral home. They worked nothing less than a miracle in preparing Dave for our final goodbyes.) The least of his injuries included his left ear being all but severed completely, his right eye was lying on his cheek, and his lower lip was almost completely severed as well. NOW...to the reason I am sharing this gruesome account of my brother's passing. You see, we all have a lesson to learn from this. I don't wish to sound like a psa, or an after school special, but I hope that any reading this will take heed to what I say next. My brother's blood alcohol level was more than 3 times the legal limit for drivers, he was driving in excess of 73 miles per hour, and as I mentioned before, he wasn't wearing his seatbelt. Please, please DO NOT DRINK AND DRIVE, wear your seatbelts, and obey the speed limits.
Even though we all knew that my brother had his fun at the bars, we were all quite shocked to hear that he had been driving while intoxicated. He was always the first to surrender his keys and catch a ride home if he had too many.
So...to my friends, all of you...don't let life drag you into decisions that you wouldn't normally make. If you're down, depressed, or just having a bad day for heaven's sake think before you act. Even if you feel like it doesn't matter, you'll be ok, you're just escaping for the moment, that moment can quickly and easily become an eternity. Take a second and stop to remember that you may be making a decision that will cause great sorrow to those left behind.
Take care of yourselves, and take care of each other. Remember to take a moment to thank someone, and love someone. Take another moment to let that someone know that you love them. Time is precious and sorely missed when it runs out.
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Comments: 30
There was a new commercial out the other day that I really liked.. they stressed about not driving when you feel buzzed.
I pray that by sharing your grief one live can be saved, one family can be spared, and others will not only spread the news but change their lives and stop drinking and driving! If you drink, fine, just don't drive! Take a cab, stay home and get drunk, call a friend, call mom!
Think about it this way, how am I going to feel if I kill someone and survive? What about a whole family? What about my family if I die? If you can't answer that with a good answer, then walk if you have to, sleep in your car! Don't Drink and Drive!
God Bless, thank you again for sharing your tragedy.
"Take care of yourselves, and take care of each other. Remember to take a moment to thank someone, and love someone. Take another moment to let that someone know that you love them. Time is precious and sorely missed when it runs out."
Those words are so perfectly spoken, and I hope you are able to find some way to cope with this. I have not experienced a loss like this, so I honestly don't even know what to say. I just want you to know that I read your story and feel for you. I appreciate you publishing this so others can know your pain and hopefully think twice before acting.
Mariana, I sure hope you're right. I pray that any family is spared from this. It was all so unnecessary. I wish so hard that Dave would have found another outlet for the things that had him down. I wish he would have thought before he acted. Thank you for your kindness, and the hugs.
I'd like to share something that happened over the weekend though. I had taken my daughters (3 and 6) to the local gas station/convenient store to by a Bug Juice (sounds gross, but its just juice in a squeeze bottle) and a treat. When we went to the counter to pay, my youngest asked "mommy what does this say?" pointing to a sign on the counter. I told her, it says "We ID". My six year old asked what that meant. I told them that means they check to see how old you are before you buy beer, wine or cigarettes. They looked at each other, then at me and informed me that they are NEVER buying beer. The folks in line behind us thought it was just too cute, until my 6 year old daughter said, "No really, we're not. We decided after what happened to Uncle David, it just isn't worth ever doing." Everyone then began to tell them what a good thing they decided (we live in a VERY small town, so everyone knew) From the mouths of babes never was more true.
I LOVE the story about your daughters and the things they said. I happen to know what bug juice is, so I wasn't grossed out. My kids like the blue kind the best. I know their thoughts about alcohol will never change and that gives me a lot of comfort for you. I really think you should post another article about your daughters standing up for what they believe in. People would love to hear that.
I agree with you on telling people not to go out and drink then have to drive. I am not against drinking but there is too much at stake when you get behind a wheel even when emotionly upset let alone after drinking. I hope your family is doing well.