Son in accident with DRUNK DRIVER (kind of rant)

[FlatbackFanatic]

Sunday night about 10:30  I get a call from someone I don't know, and they say "Do you have a son named Kevin?" I say yes, and then they say he was just in an accident. I'll let you talk to him. They hold the phone to him, and he says he just got in an accident with a drunk driver, the woman was on the wrong side of the road. he said he's a little hurt, but OK. I find out where he is and drive over where the accident was,(about 5 miles from our house). I get there, and then after about 5 minutes talking with the cop, he lets me go to the accident site and I talk to my son in the ambulance. He said he was on his way home from work, driving along minding his own business, on this dark county road, all of a sudden he had two headlights on 20 feet in front of him, he try to swerve to the right as fast as he could, and the 2006 Ford f150 hit him just in front of the drivers side tire then all the way down the drivers side of the car(2002 Saturn coupe)(pics below). The car is totaled. The truck was 300 feet down the road, they tried to drive away,but the spindle on the truck broke off. I talked to anothe Cop and he said the driver of the truck was arrested. I said good thing. After that I went home and got my wife and went to the hospital. My sons injuries were; two cracked ribs, partically collasped lung, stitches on his left elbo and left shoulder,his eyelid was cut through about a 1/2 inch long,and numerous cuts and bruises. We ARE SO lucky that he's still alive.He just got out of the hospital this afternoon. Its been a very long and stressful 48 hours. The Cty sheriff's dept. can and talked to my son at the hospital Sunday night about the accident. That was fast. On Monday the sheriff's dept said they were filing  Felony DUI charges on the woman. She's in jail tonight with a $50,000 bond on her.We're hoping she goes to prison. When are our law makers ever going to get OFF ther ASSES and get these laws changedto keep these people off the streets??? You hear about it all the time,either a person is killed or seriously injured. We got lucky it easily went the other way. (I thank God it didn't). I've been mad about this crap for years, it never gets any better. Sorry for my rant, its been a very emotional week so far.

[moparguy01]

Ouch. Glad he's ok. And I hope they nail the drunk to the wall.

[ChgrSteve67]

Glad to hear you son is not critically injured. Definately lucky.

In todays day and age I'm suprised they don't file atempted murder charges against these people.

A co worker of mine had his daughter and her boyfriend almost killed by a drunk driver last year.
Don't be suprised when this person gets off with a slap on the wrist. If this person does any jail time it will not be much.

Be really glad your sons in good shape all things considered.

[RD]

amen to your son, amen to the b**ch getting her's in the court system

[mikesbbody]

The important thing is Kevin is ok but I sure hope she gets what's coming to her.

[tan top]

The important thing is Kevin is ok but I sure hope she gets what's coming to her.

  glad his ok !!  damn , thats a nasty hit ! right on the driver side as well 

[TeeWJay426]

I think your son is very lucky, considering how bad that car looks. Thank God he had the presence of mind to swerve right; had she hit him directly head on, would have been much worse. Hopefully she will be off the road and behind bars for awhile, but given the state of our so-called 'justice' system, she'll probably be back on the road by the time his scars have healed up.

[69DodgeCharger]

From the looks of that car I would say he is extremely lucky. Those kind of side impact wrecks usually result in serious and often fatal head injuries.

[chargerboy69]

Hopefully she will be off the road and behind bars for awhile, but given the state of our so-called 'justice' system, she'll probably be back on the road by the time his scars have healed up.

You are so right.  I lost my four sisters in a car accident caused by a drunk driver, my mom came out with just a few bumps and bruises. He received nothing more than a few months in jail.  The son of a bitch should have fried.

I am glad to hear your son is alright.  Looking at the car I thought it would have been worse.  I hope he makes a speedy recovery.

[RECHRGD]

I'm glad that he's going to be OK.  A few more inches to the left and he wouldn't be here.  The sad thing about this, is that she probably has prior DUI confictions.  They need to permanently take away their drivers licenses after some lengthy jail time.  Bob

[TruckDriver]

Great to hear he is going to be okay. They need to lock her up and throw away the key as they should with all drunk drivers. I have no remorse for drunk drivers at all. Unfortunately, if it was in Wisconsin, they would let her out, and she would do it again at least 10 times before they actually do anything about it

[Mike DC]

  
Your son is lucky to be alive.  It looks like there was more than enough violence in that wreck to kill him.  I wonder if it might have helped him to just hit the truck head on, it's hard to know.  But either way somebody was watching out for him.  

Best of luck with his recovery.




IMHO the best thing we could for drunk driving is to adjust the penalties depending on how drunk your are.  As long as we write the same punishment for driving on 2-3 beers that you get for driving on 8-10, then the punishment is gonna be an average of what those two situations call for.  It makes no sense.  

Imagine the crime problem we'd have if we were treating all thefts the same, from candybars at a gas station to Wall Street embezzlement.  We'd be screaming about a lot of multi-millon-dollar embezzlers getting slapped on the wrist for their first or second offense.  

[GPULLER]

Wow Kurt that was a nasty hit.  Glad to hear your son is still here to talk about it, hope the driver gets what she deserves.

[hemi68charger]

Looks like God was looking over your son on this one.......... 

Glad to hear he's not hurt worse....... Keep the faith and keep being the good Dad you are..........

Troy

[draftingmonkey]

Sorry to hear about the accident , but happy to hear that he will be OK.  I lost 3 good friends 30+ years ago to a drunk driver.  I agree that the laws need to get a lot tougher. We will be praying for him to heal quickly.

James

[Cooter]

In this day and age, drinking and driving is even MORE stupid than it ever was...With all the advertisements and all, you would have to be a total brain dead idiot to even try it....


Glad your son is OK, and I hope that b*tch never gets her license back...
Only thing On my mind right now would be my lawyers phone number....MAke her pay your son for about the next 5 years...

[FlatbackFanatic]

Thanks for all the support guys,it really helps. Its really great to that there are so many people concerned for one another.  He's doing better today than yesterday hopefully better tomorrow than today. He says he really misses his video games.Hahahaha.

[General_01]

Glad to hear Kevin is doing all right.

That totally stinks, but as others have said don't hold your breath as far as the justice system goes. 

[Just 6T9 CHGR]

Man thats terrible.   Glad to hear your son is ok.  That plastic Saturn really took a beating & looks like the steel structure did its job for the most part.   Nail that POS to the wall.

[Darkman]

I'm glad that he's going to be OK.  A few more inches to the left and he wouldn't be here.  The sad thing about this, is that she probably has prior DUI confictions.  They need to permanently take away their drivers licenses after some lengthy jail time.  Bob

That was one nasty crash. Very lucky kid!

I will add to this by saying that I am unfortunatley related to a drunk driver, My Uncle has not killed anyone yet (thankfully), but is a repeat offender! It really pisses me off because I have seen him do it. For the safety of the public, I have phoned the police on several occassions to catch him. Sometimes they did. He has had his license disqualified on several occassions, but that never stopped him. He has been caught driving with a disqualified license and under the influence at the same time, but he was never jailed. Our judicial system in Australia really sucks. Drunk and reckless drivers that kill someone would only get 1 to 3yrs in the lockup if the judge thinks they should be jailed. I believe it is no different to murder if you drive a car either recklessly or under the influence and you kill someone....you should get life behind bars. Too many innocent people are killed because of this stupidity, and those killed never seem to be the ones at fault! Sorry for my rant.

[moparmoynihan]

I'm happy your son is ok, that looked like a horrible crash. He's very lucky.

[Silver R/T]

Glad your son is ok. As for the bitch, I hope she does some time. I really wish they would open DUI site with the pics of all the drunk drivers, just like sex offenders. This scum needs to stay off the streets

[bull]

Glad your kid is ok for the most part. I could have been a lot worse but still I hope he doesn't suffer any long term negative effects.

As for the DUI, sadly these people are usually chronic and even when they take their licenses away and have their cars taken away they just go out and buy $500 cars off CL and do it again. Another slap on the wrist, another car taken and another $500 CL purchase; over and over until someone pays the ultimate price. If these same people got drunk and started shooting a gun into the air it would be taken more seriously but I don't really much difference between that and driving a 5,000-lb car down the wrong side of the road.

[Black Charger]

I am glad to hear your son is O.K. That could have definitely turned out much worse. Your son's guardian angel was working overtime that night.

[bakerhillpins]

Yowza, I am so happy to hear that your son escaped with minor injuries. That car is messed up.

I had something similar happen to me when I was returning home from college for a holiday many years ago though I was fortunate enough not to have been hit. It was on a ST Route in PA and the drunk came up from behind me at well over 90 in a large pickup. (I was doing probably 65-70 at the time) It was one of the few 3 lane (passing in middle) straights. They came flying up behind me. So fast so I barely had time to recognize what was about to happen. I swerved off the road and they into the center lane. No oncoming traffic thank god.

Ill add my voice to the choir about drunk drivers... both how they should be treated and how poorly the justice system reacts to it. 

Its a good thing that she couldn't drive away. I've been to several drunk accidents over the years with the Fire Dpt. and your chances of getting a DUI arrest are drastically reduced if they leave the scene. The longer it is before the tests the less drunk they are. Then they just get a Leaving the scene of an accident charge. 

[PocketThunder]

Thank God he is ok.  Hope he makes a full recovery!   

Paul

[69charger2002]

wow that was pretty bad!
i hope she gets what she deserves. glad your son is "ok"
trav

[nh_mopar_fan]

That's a nasty crash. Glad he's going to be ok.

Hope they throw the book at the drunk.

[b5blue]

Rant anytime! We are here for ya! Think everything out before you start taking action, your son could very well face a lifetime of back pain or unforeseen consequences from this. My cousin is a Chiropractor and has told me of many who "settled too soon" not realizing 20 years later they would have problems that gravely effected there quality of life with no actionable recourse. The best way to teach a drunk driver is through the wallet so they can't afford a drink. I would start finding out how deep her pockets are. (Buy the way I feel the same way about cell phones and texting as drunk driving, one of my best friends lost his wife and spent 8 months in therapy and had numerous surgery's from a head on collision last year so your sons fast reaction saved his life!)     

[bobs66440]

There are too many lost beacause of this type of senseless tragedy. There is no-one more precious than your kids. I am very glad to hear he is going to be okay.

Bob

[FlatbackFanatic]

Thought I would give an update. The swelling on his eye has gone down, the rest of his cuts and bruises are looking good. The insurance company totaled his car yeaterday, at least he got enough to get it payed off. Now to look for a new car. We're going to start interviewing Lawyers next week. The Judge lower the womans bail to $30,000 and added conditions to it.(I haven't heard what they are yet).So everything is looking up. Thanks to all of you for your concern, it has helped alot!!!

[bobs66440]

Glad to hear of the improvement.   

Why would they lower her bail?! That kind of thing drives me nuts!!  They always give the offender the benefit of the doubt. She probably got some slick lawyer and gave a sob story.  Hopefully they will throw the book at her. Especially since she tried to run.   

[FlatbackFanatic]

I don't know why the Judge did it, probably because it was her first offence. I have a call in to the Detective on the case, just waiting to find out whats going on.

[b5blue]

Means she got an attorney.    Do you have one yet? Don't "settle" with ANY insurance company till you get professional council. You and yours are in my prayers!   

[jaak]

I wish your son a speedy recovery. By the looks of that car, looks as if it could have been much worse. I really hope this woman gets it in court.

Jason

[aone415]

God was with your son during that accident... He is sooo blessed that an idiot didn't maim or kill him.  Hopefully the court system will actually work and keep her where she belongs.

[69rtse4spd]

Glad he is OK, do not sign anything from her att. or insurance company, they will screw you. Nail the bitch to the wall, might save someone else from the pain of another accident down the road.

[chargergirl]

Glad you saw your boy before you saw that car. He didn't drive faster than his angel could fly...Thank God.

[bobs66440]

Glad you saw your boy before you saw that car. He didn't drive faster than his angel could fly...Thank God.

[Skinypete]

I'm really glad that your kid made it out alive! But it makes me wonder why some people live and others die?

R.I.P. MWB

DJMIII

[FlatbackFanatic]

Glad you saw your boy before you saw that car. He didn't drive faster than his angel could fly...Thank God.

Thats for sure. We will be interviewing some Lawyers this week.

[The70RT]

Thank god he is going to be fine. Now if the justice system will do their part.