When is “Enough” Enough?

By Gail Myers

Ricky is an energetic 6-year-old (almost 7!) kindergartner. Always asking questions and wanting to learn. That almost changed on the night of December 16, 2003. Ricky's mom, Jennifer, was stopped at a red light on the Oak Ridge Turnpike, waiting to turn left. It was 6:43 p.m. and she had her lights and left turn signal on. Suddenly, with no warning at all, a car without its lights on, came out of nowhere and slammed into the rear end of her car, knocking it across 2 lanes of traffic into a parking lot of a gas station. Ricky was seated in the back right passenger seat with a shoulder harness and seat belt on. When Mom got to him, he was pushed up against the front passenger bucket seat and he was unresponsive. The other 3 people in the car sustained only minor injuries—cuts and bruises. Ricky was the most seriously injured and was transported to UT Medical Center in Knoxville. At UT he was placed in the Trauma Unit where he remained for four days. He sustained a skull fracture with bleeding in the brain, a bone behind his eye was shattered, and a concussion. He had to be re-admitted to UT during the Christmas holidays and is continuing to have outpatient treatment.

The other driver fled the scene of the accident on foot, he was gone before the police or paramedics arrived. When the police opened the driver’s door, there in plain view was a quart bottle of malt liquor on the floorboard near the accelerator and the inside of the passenger compartment smelled strongly of alcohol. This person turned himself into the Oak Ridge Police the next morning on the advice of a family member. He admitted to being the driver of the vehicle and to fleeing the scene. He further admitted to have been drinking at the time of the wreck, but did not remember anything about the crash itself. He claimed that he ran because he does not have insurance. The charges that have been brought against this young man are (1) Leaving the scene of an accident with personal injury, (2) Following too closely, (3) Failure to provide proof of financial responsibility, and (4) Violation of the adult seat belt law. These are all misdemeanors and one is just a traffic citation!

I have been in contact with the investigating officer, who is just as upset with this situation as I am and everyone should be. This man was drinking and he knew that he should not have been behind the wheel of a car that is why he fled from the scene. The investigating officer tried every way he knew how to somehow bring an alcohol related charge against this guy, but legally he could not. It is frustrating knowing that this guy had been drinking and even admitted it and there is nothing that can be done about it.

This is another case of “it is just a matter of time before he does it again, only next time he may kill somebody”. Enough is enough! How long are we (the public) going to allow these drunk drivers to continue to injure and kill our mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, children, friends, etc? Enough is enough! It is time to get tougher on these drunk drivers who repeatedly disregard the laws. I urge each of you to contact Gov. Bredesen, your state senator and house representative and ask them to support new DUI legislation such as the Administrative License Revocation, mandatory drug AND alcohol testing, along with several other proposals.

Ricky is back in school now, and doing fine. I get to see his smile everyday at lunch, something I look forward to. The doctors at UT have released him from any further treatment. The court hearing for the other driver has been reset twice. Rickey’s mom was contacted by the DA’s office and asked if she wanted to be a witness at the hearing. She most definitely said “Yes!”

I went to court with Rickey and his family on February 10, 2004. The young man who hit them from behind and then fled the scene on foot, pleaded guilty to (1) Leaving the scene of an accident with personal injury–court costs of $318.00 plus a sentence of 11 months and 29 days, suspended with supervised probation, (2) Following too closely—fine and court costs total of $152.00 and (3) Failure to provide proof of insurance—$20.00 fine. The violation of adult seat belt law was dismissed. This is just another example of letting someone off with just a “slap on the wrist”! This young man had been drinking and alcohol was found in the car.

He admitted to such, but there was no “proof” by the time he turned himself in to the police. He knew exactly what he was doing when he ran away. I watched him in court; he kept his head low and never looked Jennifer or Rickey in the eye. He never showed one bit of remorse, he never accepted any responsibility for his actions. He has agreed to make restitution for their car and medical bills, but I was told that a family member told the police that this young man was planning to flee to Kentucky. I guess that is his solution when he does something wrong—run away. It seems to have worked so far!