Monday, March 12, 2007

2 days to D-Day and a related story

So, I woke up this morning feeling unrested and I had another strange dream, though I can't remember the content of it now. I hate when I have those dreams, I have been having them more lately and some have been disturbing. Anyway, I didn't get much sleep at all so I am feeling just a bit exhausted. But I noticed there is a message from my lawyer on my phone, he called to remind me to meet him at the courthouse Wednesday morning. It's 2 days to D-Day when I have to go to court and I had a sense of apprehension come over me after I saw that he had called. Oh well. But on a related note, I was reading the daily edition of TV Shoptalk and leading it off was the following;

...from Winston-Salem, North Carolina...Local News Anchor Charged With DWI After Fatal Crash:

WXII 12 News morning show anchor Tolly Carr faces DWI charges after a pedestrian was killed early Sunday morning.

According to the Winston-Salem Police Department, WXII 12 News morning show anchor Tolly Carr faces DWI charges after a fatal crash early Sunday morning.

Investigators say Carr was driving along West First Street around 3:00am when he drove past a "road closed" barrier. They say his pickup truck was headed from Burke Street toward Hawthorne when it ran onto a sidewalk, hitting and killing a pedestrian. Police say Carr continued driving on the sidewalk and struck a building.

"I heard a really loud noise and I thought maybe a car had driven into one of the ditches they have been digging. And I woke up and told my boyfriend, it sounds like a car's in the ditch," says witness Karen Liparulo. "It woke me up. I was startled."

Police say the man killed in the crash is Casey Ryan Bokhoven, 26. He lived on the 1400 block of West First Street.

A passenger in the truck, Fjola Wilson, is in stable condition at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. Carr is charged with Driving While Impaired and further charges are pending.

WXII-TV general manager Hank Price released the following statement: "All of us at WXII are devastated by this terrible tragedy. Our hearts go out to the families of everyone affected by this horrible event. As we do with all important news stories, we will be reporting the facts as they come to light."

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I feel bad for this guy. I mean, most people would just say "I hope he rots in jail" and well, perhaps he should but, chances are this guy has a problem with drinking and he could have realized it and sought help before it came to this. And I certainly feel really bad for the victims family, it must be devastating for them. As for it relating to my own dilemma, well, I am very thankful that I didn't do anything like this. It was bad enough that I did what I did by drinking and driving, but I didn't get involved in an accident or anything. There is a saying that says, "I haven't done that...yet." Had I not quit drinking when I did, there was another yet or 2. I guess I should look at it as "I once complained that I needed new shoes when I saw a man that had no feet" or perhaps, "there but for the grace of God, go I".

In the grand scheme of things, to be realistic, I am charged with a misdemeanor, Carr will be charged with a felony. The minimum for me is 120 days, 60 suspended, but that could go lower, at least I hope. At this point 30 days is not that bad, at least it should be work release I hope. License suspension for a year, or from what some have said, 90 days and then a temporary to drive to work and back. And then there is all the BS they put you through, fees, fines, classes and whatever. But, Carr is looking at prison time, and well, he has ruined his life as he knows it and more importantly, he ruined Bokhoven's
. Bokhoven can't get out of the hospital and recover, he won't be able to see his kids, he won't even get married if he wasn't already. His family is devastated and really, it's a horrible way to die. From what I read in the story, he was just walking along and then hit and killed. Sometimes you really wonder what the good Lord has in mind when things like this happen. Well, as they say, "nothing but nothing happens in God's world by mistake."

I feel bad for Bokhoven's family as we have reported countless stories of DUI related accidents that killed somebody. I think the worst one to date for me was the one in Tempe about 4 years ago where a lawyer and a friend had been out drinking and were racing down University in Tempe and hit a girl from ASU as she was walking. The impact cut her in half. Then he went home and tried to hide the car and finally turned himself in. I haven't heard any update on what happened to him, though I am sure he won't be representing himself in court. Alcohol & drug use are no respecter of job, race, creed or social status. I would say in this case, "Rock n Roll is a vicious game". Yeah, I have some problems, but thank God, nothing like this.