What if That Stranger Hit and Killed Me?

I was watching a documentary on HBO the other day called, SMASHED: Toxic Tales of Teens and Alcohol. This boy showed up at a party where a lot of his buddies were. What was also at the party was alcohol. The “cool” thing to do was to give into peer pressure and drink; the teenage boy couldn’t resist and he gave in. One drink led to another and as time passed by, so did the consumption of alcohol by party goers and the teenage boy. It finally got to the end of the night and the last drink the teenage boy had was hours ago. His friends and he were confident and sure that he was okay to drive home. Before he knew it, that stupid decision changed his life forever.

As the show went on I started to think about how this could happen to anyone. I’m really against drunk driving so I thought about loved ones that I know who drink and drive. I was sitting on the couch watching this helpless boy lay in the hospital bed, his eyes shut with blood everywhere. He didn’t even look like a human. Millions of tubes were connected to him sending him necessities for his own survival. His mother cried hysterically in the arms of his father who was trying to stay strong. The teenage boy was in shock trauma for eight days, and each hour, minute, and second the family stood there preying for his life. Luckily, he survived, but dying may have been easier. The simple things like walking, talking and moving had to be relearned. His long term memory turned short and his personality completely changed. Seeing the struggle that this teenage boy and his family went through made me realize so many things. I couldn’t imagine anything like this happening to someone I know, let alone someone close; whether they live or die, they’re different and still lost.

When people make the decision to drink and drive they don’t realize they are jeopardizing their own lives, but others as well. They should know that they can hit another person and kill that person or kill a passenger in the car with them. Jeopardizing lives doesn’t necessarily mean someone else having to die, but it can affect other people’s lives. The documentary showed how the parents and the teenage boy’s family stressed mentally and physically over the tragic accident. They took time off of work to care for their son and at the same time lost a lot of money because of the hospital bills and insurance. They also had to care for their child when he was going through rehabilitation. The teenager’s parents had to deal with a son who couldn’t be independent. The lives for friends and family will have changed too.

The Statistics on Drinking and Driving among Teens says that eight teens die a day due to drunk driving. That’s a lot! Some teenagers don’t think about the consequences to their own actions. If something did happen to them then I think it’s their own fault. When I was watching the documentary, in the back of my head I thought that they got what they deserved and it’s their own fault. I felt bad because it was a mean thought, but if you think about it there are so many ads, signs, and people telling teenagers about the cause and effect of drunk driving. Most of these drink drivers say that they’ve driven drunk before, but they never thought it would actually happen to them. They’re ignorant for thinking that it wouldn’t happen to them, it could happen to anyone.

I put myself in the shoes of the victims in the fatal car accidents caused by drunken teens and felt so much resentment. If someone close to me died, I don’t know if I could learn to forgive or let go of the grudge for that drunken teen. Although I think what I feel for them would fade with time, but I would never forget it.

This documentary had a great impact on me and seeing true stories of the risk of drinking and driving was enlightening. Whenever I hear about someone drinking and driving I’d rather find a safe ride home for them. I wish everyone could stop and think before they drink and drive. So every time I’m in my car there is always that thought that pops into my head, I can prevent loved ones from drinking and driving, but I can’t prevent a stranger from drinking and driving and what if that stranger hit and killed me?