Drunk Drivers and Stupid Drivers

Drunk Drivers and Stupid Drivers are one in the same.

Early this morning two Miami-Dade Police Sgts were plowed down by a drunk stupid woman who decided she could drink and drive (although not proven in a court of law yet). She didnt kill them. Lucky. But, I just heard on the news one of the officers, Sgt. Laurenceau who is 35 years old may be paralyzed. Stupid stupid stupid.

Here's the story:

Police Officers Hit By Drunken Driver
Officers Hospitalized In Serious Condition

POSTED: Saturday, June 5, 2010
UPDATED: 6:24 pm EDT June 5, 2010
MIAMI -- Two Miami police sergeants were hospitalized Saturday after being hit by an impaired driver.
The Miami Police Department said Sgt. Robert Laurenceau and Sgt. Orlando Villaverde were conducting a search for a robbery suspect just before 3 a.m. when they were hit.
The two were standing near a police perimeter at Northwest 17th Avenue and Northwest 41st Street when the Ford Taurus headed toward them.
Police said that's when the driver struck the officers and then crashed into the police cruiser they were standing next to.
Both officers were taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital.
Laurenceau, 35, suffered head injuries, possible broken bones, and spinal cord injuries and had to undergo surgery.
Villaverde, 45, suffered several broken ribs and a broken clavicle.
They were last listed in serious but stable condition.
The driver of the car, Mary Lindsay, was arrested and charged with two counts of driving under the influence.

I don't understand drunk driving. Especially nowadays. There is so much literature and examples out there about how it doesnt end well on a daily basis. If you dont kill yourself or someone else its a minimum of $10,000.00 and countless hours of court, comunity service and counseling just to get your license back. Not to mention your insurance is fucked up insane high for a few years.

I have been out partying and there has been a few times I've gotten schnockered AND STILL knew well enough NOT to DRIVE. Maybe its the fact that as a 21 year old I should have died.

23 years ago this month I was at the after party of a wedding and made a bad decision. I was drunk. Very drunk. You know that drunk you get by drinking steady all afternoon into the evening at the open bar at the reception?? Then going to the after party and drinking tons of beer while losing at Chandelier Quarters?? Yeah, the kind of drunk that causes you to go puke all the beer up so you can go back to play and drink more?? Yeah, that drunk. But I still remember everything.

I made the bad decision to get in the car with 3 other drunks (yes the driver was one of them) and go get more beer. Maybe it was the chance for a ride in a Porche 911 Turbo that made me, maybe it was stupidity gone amuck.

We made it to the bar alive and in one piece without killing anyone and picked up a case of beer. I remember being amazed when we put the beer in the trunk that it was in the front(!) of the car and the engine was in the rear. Alls well so far! On our way back the driver took Spring Street. Why is beyond me because we were going in the wrong direction from the party. Hind sight tells me he was going to show off a bit. This road was a residential street, posted at 30mph and curvy as shit. Really bad idea.

I was in the back seat behind the passenger. I was annoyed because I wanted to ride in the front seat but the dude that went with us was 300+lbs and there was NO way he was fitting in the back seat of this car. Shit, I barely fit back there and I was normal sized then.

Once he made that turn onto the street he proceeded to red line 1st, 2nd AND almost 3rd gear on his way to the estimated 120 mph we were going when he couldn't navigate the curve and we hit and snapped the first telephone pole on our way to the second. I remember looking out the front windshield as we were ready to hit that first pole and saying "Oh Shit!" and tucking my head. Even though I know my eyes were closed I saw the light and sparks from the transformer hitting the ground. I heard it too. The explosion of 3 M80's inside your head prolly describes it pretty well. Its a good thing we went thru that pole as the transformer landing on the roof could of done some serious injury to the body.

We proceeded to go thru a fire hydrant and two signs before we hit and cracked the second telephone pole. It was the second pole hit that caused me to hit my head which knocked me out. Mercifully. I missed the jaws of life, extrication and seeing a lot of people I knew. I was not on the first aid squad at the time, but I was friends with a lot of them in my town and the surrounding towns.

We all should have died that night. Who lives thru a crash at 100mph much less 120mph?? C'mon. Stupid. The fact that we were drunk probably saved our lives. Stupid dumb luck.

Prior to that accident had I drank and drove?? Sure. But never more than a beer, early in the night on my designated driving night. My friends and I always had designated drivers. Our policy was to draw straws, highest or lowest card or any number of games and the sucker who got DD, GOT IT. None of my friends were with me at that wedding or party that night. The accident solidified for me that ANY drinking and driving are a big no no.



So have I been stupid?? Yes. I told Lauren this story when she turned 16 and was getting ready to get her drivers license. I showed her this pic. Tried to make her understand how stupid I was and how one bad decision should have killed me. I got lucky. That was in June of 1987. I got pregnant with Lauren 4 months later. To think of all that might not have been had I not been so lucky.