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DUI victims make impact with stories
Tuesday, September 08, 2009
By Liza Matia Staff Writer
"She didn't know she hit me, that's what gets me."
As the victim of a drunk driver told her story, tears formed in the eyes of many of her audience members.
The woman had been riding a motorcycle with her husband last year when she was struck by a drunk driver. The driver never stopped to see if the woman was OK. It wasn't until she wrecked her vehicle later that the driver was apprehended by authorities. At the time of the accident, she was under the influence of drugs and was also in the Accelerated Rehabilition Program.
The motorcycle rider suffered a broken wrist and road rash, but survived to tell her story.
"I'm very lucky. I feel like an angel took care of me," she said.
Sharing her story has been therapeutic, but with the recent implementation of the "DUI Victim Impact Panel," it's also helping others.
The program is part of the Pennsylvania Alcohol Highway Safety School, a court-ordered program that is attended by first and second time offenders sentenced for driving under the influence crimes. In collaboration with Mothers Against Drunk Driving, adult probation departments and victim witness programs, the panel has been offered four times so far in Clearfield County at no cost to the county.
According to Noell Gilson of the Clearfield County Probation Department, the panel "gives victims the opportunity to speak on how they've been affected by DUI. It's a healthy tool for victims."
But, she said, it has also shown positive results with offenders because it helps them understand the negative choices they've made. Each session features two or three speakers who share their experience with DUI.
"It's about planning ahead and looking at choices," Gilson told a recent Highway Safety School class. "It's to help educate you to make better choices."
Don McClusick of the probation department said that victims are paid $50 to speak and are compensated for gas and mileage.
At the most recent panel, the victim's husband also shared his side of the story. He had been riding his motorcycle behind his wife that night and witnessed the whole scene.
"All of a sudden, there was a car in between us. I saw it hit her from behind," he said. "She tumbled and rolled. She and the bike parted and the car drove in between them."
He thought he was watching his wife die that night.
"It felt like slow motion, but it wasn't." He credits his wife's helmet for saving her life.
"Her face was nothing but blood," he said, when he found his wife after the accident. "She said, ‘they didn't stop, they didn't stop.'"
The ambulance personnel who arrived on the scene couldn't believe the lack of injuries the victim suffered. In addition to the broken wrist and road rash, she also had to have her lip stitched because she bit through it during the accident.
Gilson pointed out that offenders' lives are also affected in DUI-related incidents.
"Everyone is affected," she said. "It is just a poor choice that affects people you might never run into again."
In court, the driver who hit the woman never apologized until the judge told her to do so. The couple, who have children of their own, learned the driver had a daughter, too.
"We just want her to get help," they said, and said they hope that she learns a lesson from the incident.
"It's the hardest thing I've ever had to go through," the victim said.
But, both she and her husband haven't let their experience stop them from riding. Both have begun riding again since the accident.
"She wasn't going to take that away from me," the woman said. "I got back on my bike."
"I'm almost too protective now, because I saw what happened," the man said of his wife. Both said they never want to feel too confident about riding anymore. "I can't get over where she's been and what she's been through. I'm very thankful she's here," he said.
Although the physical injuries have healed, the emotional pain still bubbles to the surface sometimes.
"It shocks me that I still get choked up about it," the woman said. "I don't know what emotion it is ... fear, pain, anger, compassion for my husband. All these things ... I'm still emotional."
She said she hoped that she would always have the lingering residual emotions from the incident, "so I don't get too confident."
"It's not my fault," she said, "but I realize accidents happen."
After hearing testimony from the victims, students in the Highway Safety School reflected on their own experiences.
"I'm just glad I didn't hurt anyone when I got caught," one student said. "It changed my life. This will make me think before I drink. I know I'll never drink and drive again."
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