(This post was originally published as my column in the September 18 Turner Report Newsletter.)
One of the problems with the Missouri State Highway Patrol's decision to stop posting names on accidents is that it turns people into statistics. When someone dies in a drunk driving accident, which is usually easy to determine by comparing the accident list with the arrest list, we know who the drunk driver is since the arrests are listed, but the people who are taken from us are just numbers.
They're a 51-year-old woman from Joplin or a 10-year-old boy from Neosho.
Sometimes, however, it's not that difficult to know who the victims were.
Such a case occurred Monday when two 60-year-old Pineville residents were killed by a drunk driver. The obituary notice for Mike and Debbie Wood came Tuesday from Ozark Funeral Home, but the full details didn't arrive until today.
When you read their obituary, you can see the horrible cost of drunk driving.
The obituary tells the story of a couple whose love story began in high school and lasted the remainder of their lives. Debbie found happiness in being on the open road on her bike, a day on the golf course, the color blue and traveling the world. Mike found his joy in whatever made Debbie happy.
They left behind two children and a grandchild.
A family torn apart by a drunk driver.
It seems much more real and much more personal when you can put names to the victims.
Mike and Debbie Wood weren't just numbers.
1 comment:
Money hungry lawyers would be the reason names aren't listed. After all, they did pay employees to read the reports and then harass the victims. I would rather be a number on that report than my family be hounded by lawyers and having to re-live it everytime one called. 💯
Post a Comment