Hevyn

Yesterday, in the resort town where I lived until recently, two young men's lives were shattered. It happens every year - people fall from balconies, drunken swimming, drunken boating, car accidents. This time a 22 yr. old man was crossing Coastal Highway in Ocean City, MD when he was hit & killed by a 30 yr. old man who was drunk, and left the scene. Witnesses followed him, and he now sits in jail waiting for his court appearance - wishing with all his heart he could turn back the clock.

There were certain places I was NEVER going to let alcohol take me. Drunk driving was one. Yet I was arrested twice for doing just that. The second time, I spent 8 days in jail. Me - who would never harm anyone or anything. It took years to evolve into a reckless drinker, but it happened. At the end of my drinking career, my inhibitions and judgment were altered dangerously every time I picked up. I could be serving a life term for vehicular homicide - my family and friends utterly heartbroken and devastated. I'm so thankful I stopped the runaway train in time. I did it with the help of SR.

I commend you for finding this place, for reading my words, for realizing you may need to make a change in your life. If you're concerned about the impact alcohol has on you, this is the time to reach out for help. We are so glad you are here!

Sapling

Spent a few summers there...Nice reminder of the wreckage this disease leaves behind.

LoftyIdeals

Well put, Hevyn. Events like this are a grim reminder of the insidious ways that alcohol takes over our minds and our lives, and the impact it can have on ourselves and others. What a selfish, selfish disease this is.

sugarbear1

Been on the news here. Tragic. I have an AA friend who killed someone 30 years ago in a black out. He had to be told what he had done at the time.

All we can do is stay stopped each day. It's the least we can do today.

Love,

Fandy

there was a 21 year old the other day who drunken drove into a HOUSE and didn't stop..2 elderly women were asleep, thankfully out of her path. they showed her picture on the TV and she's smiling...I don't see upset or remorse in her face, just a few scratches.

there but for the grace of God....

Hevyn

Sugar, I can't imagine the horror of sobering up, and then the reality of what you've done hits. I never meant to drive drunk - the times it happened, I'd intended to have 'just one'.

least

I am so grateful I stopped before anything really bad happened to me or anyone else. What a grim reminder of how bad it can get.

sissy07

Sometimes I feel sorry for myself because I have to battle alcoholism. I feel that it is so unfair. And then I read something like this, and realize how fortunate I am that I did not do something like this during one of my drive drunk escapades. I could have easily have done something like this, and not even remembered having done it. That scares me.

Saliena

Thank you for the reminder Hevyn -- I am also this side of a couple of DUI's and today I am so grateful for my last one. It ended me up in a DUI program where I have had to take responsibility... and it has given me 6 months between now and my last drink. For that I am grateful.

Jeni26

Excellent post. It just proves how selfish we are and how distorted our thinking becomes as alcoholics.
A reminder to all of us that we are now taking the right path by seeking sobriety before it kills us or others.
Thankyou.

EXM6

Also thought I would never be a drunk driver... Hated them like everyone else. Then I became one and was caught the second time I ever did it because I fell asleep at the wheel. Now I know that I could have been one of these people that not only kills someone while I'm under the influence... Not even REMEMBERING doing it. Couldn't even imagine. Knowing that drinking makes me capable of something like this will hopefully keep me away from it for the rest of my life.

HitRockBottom70

Hevyn,
Thank you for you post. Thank goodness I never drank and drove. I blacked out at home. I'm sure it was just a matter of time before I got in the car during one of my blackouts. Your post is another important reminder to NEVER pick up a drink again. It also shows the importance of checking in here daily to remind myself why.

Hevyn

It should be so simple - don't play with fire. Yet we persist long after we know where it's taking us.

coffeenut

Hevyn....thank you for this.

We all think we're immune to something like this, don't we? Why else did we continually play with fire?

Appreciate your words of wisdom!

oinobares

This is where I am now. I totally feel sorry for myself. I don't understand it. reading an eloquent post like Hevyn's helps though. (and I've never had a dui, but I can just see it happening to me, not if but when)

bryangt

One of the reasons I turned my life over to God & then to AA is that with 40 years of drinking & driving, God kept me from hurting anyone other than myself. That is a miracle. I hit trees, poles, rolled into fields, never once hitting another car or person. I look back in amazement that this selfish, thoughtless behavior never harmed another human being. For that I thank God. It was then I realized, that he had a plan for me, he kept me alive for a reason....the journey continues, one day at a time.

Anna

Thanks for posting this, Hevyn! Such a tragic situation.

I, too, am blessed that I survived my drinking years.

IndaMiricale

Thank you for such a reminder. I also drove across this country several times coast to coast with a cooler right behind me. And everywhere inbetween. My heart goes out to that family and the driver. We that did not kill anyone are so blessed.

Good love, Inda

Dee74

just tragic - prayers for both those men and all who love them.
thanks Hev.

D

Payton

There was a college kid here who entered into someone's home in the middle of the night, in a blackout, went into their bedroom while they slept and they woke up and shot her. She's being charged with a felony for breaking into the home.

Another one who fell of a balcony recently and died.

Thanks for this thread.