Yesterday Vanessa called me to tell me that her sister-in-law (17), Doug's sister, had been in a car accident. When I was talking to her it didn't seem like that big of a deal. Nothing ever really does at first I suppose. Then the facts started coming in.
She was in her car, in the back seat, with a blood alcohol level double the legal limit. She had gone to a party at a friend's house where the parents were home and allowing the drinking to happen. These "parents" allowed an 18 year old boy and his girlfriend to drive Doug's sister's car to take her where they needed to be. He was going 120 mph and was being followed by a police officer. When the police lights went on, the car hit a median and although the facts about what happened to the car are fuzzy to me, they ended up flipping the vehicle.
Doug's sister was not in a seat belt. She was thrown 50 feet from where the car landed. Normally when you hear these things, the ending isn't a good one. I still can't figure out how, but the only thing that happened to her was that her orbital bone was broken, the tip of her nose needed to be attached and she has some very severe road rash. She was taken on the StarFlight helicopter to the hospital. The believers would say there was an angel or something protecting her. I'm still not sure how she survived, but i'm so relieved that she did.
Christian has known this family for almost 20 years. She was there when Shelby (the sister) was born. She has watched her grow up and more recently we have become incredibly close to Doug and Vanessa. They are all great people and I am fortunate to have met them and have them in my life.
I was up the majority of the night last night thinking about the what ifs. What if she hadn't been bought a BMW. What if it had been a little car. Would all three of the kids still be alive? What if they had hit the tree that they missed by a narrow margin. What if the "parents" that were allowing all of this to happen had taken all the car keys to protect these kids.
The 18 year old that was driving is in jail. The other girl that was in the front seat is also in the ICU. She was in a seat belt, but needed stitches on her face and has sporadic bruising I think from the seat belt.
Walking into the ICU room took my breath away. I had to hold back the tears as I looked at this little girl that has her whole life ahead of her but how it could've been taken away in an instant.
I can't imagine what it would be like to get that call. The middle of the night call that changes your life.
How do we get these kids to listen to what is right? How do we get them to realize that the people you hang around do have an influence on you and could change your life forever? How do we keep them safe?
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