When I was in junior high school, my sister's boyfriend (we'll call him "Dave") crashed his Impala at an intersection. He was drunk and had fallen asleep at the wheel on a fast-driving and curvy road in Northern Virginia. His brother, "Joe," was sleeping in the back seat. Joe flew into the dashboard and died instantly. I remember friends of the younger sister (if not the younger sister, who I dated for two weeks, but who broke up with me because I was boring, basically) being notified of the death at school that morning. They were crying.
It was a senseless death. I can't remember if the guy in the other car died or not. I don't think so, because I don't remember any manslaughter charges being filed against Dave. I can see why people hate alcohol. Drunk driving is such a common occurence that it touches a lot of families. I wonder if Dave thinks about Joe very often. That would be such a difficult thing to deal with.
I pray:
Father, please touch this guy's life. Let him know you care for him greatly, that you love him unconditionally. Give him the strength in the present - even years later - to deal with the past and leave it behind. Heal his heart and show him that you are intimately aware of sorrow and pain. Be his friend and draw him to Yourself.
Yeah, that would be difficult to deal with. A solo artist named Levi Weaver has a song about a similar kind of situation, minus alcohol. Levi was the (not drunk, just young and speeding) "Dave", and he wrote the song about what he thought his "Joe" would say to him from Heaven.
Posted by: Jordan Like the River at September 16, 2008 10:30 AMBack in 98, a couple friends of mine died in an automobile accident on Christmas morning. 18 and 22.
I never found out the circumstances that caused it, but they were heavy party goers, so I only assume they were under the influence.
Posted by: mjb at September 16, 2008 12:38 PM