Message shared by the parents of Angee and Eric
Nancy has conveyed this message to several high school students in the Midwest
We did not know how to convey our message to you so we made this video that has scenes from that night and live shots of the kids just months before they lost their lives. We want to share our personal experiences with you. We have experienced a parents worst nightmare, and remember it as if it was yesterday. We hope by sharing this part of our lives and Angee and Eric's story it will help you or someone you love. You can help by making a responsible choice and promising yourself never to get behind the wheel if you have been drinking, and promising yourself never to ride with someone else who has been drinking. This needs to be lifetime promise, because there is just too much to lose!
NANCY'S STORY SHE HAS SHARED...
I was traveling home from Sioux Falls to my home town of Brandon, when I had to pull over just outside of the city limits to make way for an ambulance. It was traveling at a high rate of speed, until it passed me, it slowed down, and turned off its lights. I thought to myself, oh my God, someone has died. That is when I decided to follow it. I thought to myself it could be someone I know. I sped up and remember thinking maybe they are going to the old folks home, if so, they will take a left on Splitrock Boulevard. They took a right. My heart started beating faster and faster. I started screaming go straight, go straight! Don't take a left, go straight! They took a left. That is when I saw all the flashing lights. That's when I knew many lives were going to change forever.
A car and a truck had collided head-on. I was told that three young people were involved and that the two in the car had been killed on impact and the driver of the truck was still alive and that he had been drinking. No one had to tell me their names after hearing the description of the car.
I knew at that moment it was my 16 year old son, Eric, and his girlfriend, Angee. Their lives were taken in a matter of seconds by someone who choose to drink and drive. It was 8:00 p.m. on a school night. They never had a chance. Angee was driving the car and she never even had time to tap on the breaks. They were trapped on the bridge. The young man that took their lives had just turned 21 and he had already been given so many chances. His blood alcohol that night was .20, double the legal limit, and it wasn't until hours later that this young man had to be told what he had done. He thought he had just wrecked his truck. He had no idea he had taken two lives that night.
Angee and Eric had so many plans and dreams for their lives. They had just started the second semester of their junior year of high school and had planned all their classes together. Angee wanted to be a graphic artist. She was taking classes through the mail and planned to go to Southeast when she graduated from high school. Eric loved chemistry and wanted to go to school to become a pharmacist. We found an application that he had filled out at Lewis Pharmacy. He planned to move to Colorado and get his residence so he could go to school, ski and snowboard.
Angee and Eric both loved to write and draw. They both kept journals. Angee's last entry was: "Today is our 8 month anniversary. I hope we do something special tonight." Angee's mom said they were just hanging out and planning what to wear to prom. Maybe that was what was special about their night, maybe he asked her to prom. I guess we will never know. In Eric's journal there was not an entry for that day, but we found this poem that has inspired me to share their stories with you. The poem is entitled "Young Life".
Can you imagine what it was like for the kids at Brandon Valley High School when they walked into those rooms each day and saw those two empty chairs, knowing their friends were gone, and nothing they could do could change that. Well, I believe we can change. We can make a difference in someone else's life. If each and every one of you could stop just one person from getting behind the wheel after they had been drinking, you will have made a difference in someone else's life. You may never kow how it helped, but I believe that you will feel it in your heart and you will know that you made a difference in someone else's life.
This will not be easy. Like Eric said, "Which we know for a curious mind, is harder than what you are to find." Alcohol is all around us. It's everywhere. We as adults try to put it so far out of your reach, or make it look so good, that you may be even more curious about it. Laws are even being changed so it is harder for you to get it. We do this to try and protect you from it. Eric was only 16, what did he know about this? He knew that there were a lot of kids making the wrong choices to have written that poem.
You see, this is a mistake you can never undo. Never take back. Never change. Never fix. Have you ever heard that we learn from our mistakes? Well, this is one mistake you can not afford to make and learn by it. It will cost you too much. That is why I want to help you to make the right choice in your life, without having to experience it firsthand. I want you to make the responsible choice to "Get a Ride, Don't Drink and Drive". This needs to be a lifetime promise. Not just one time, but every time you go out drinking - For a Lifetime. Each time you know you are going to be surrounded by drinking please remember this promise you made yourself today.
One thing that scares me the most now is that it could happen again to my family. That makes me feel so helpless. So I am going to do whatever it will take to insure my family and friends safety.
My daughter said to me, "How can these kids know the right decisions when they see the adults in their lives drinking at family gatherings and other events and then drive home after?" It is just as wrong for them to drive as it is for you to drive. Continually breaking the law whether it is driving under the influence or twice as bad drinking under age and then driving.
Everyone at the trial said the driver was a wonderful kid. The judge asked this young man about the 5 empty beer cans in the front of the passenger side of his truck. This kid was so honest he said they were from the night before. You see the more he did it, the more confident he became. You see this is happening to good people each and everyday. It's not because they stopped being a good person. It's because alcohol and drugs cause people to make bad judgement in their lives. I want to tell you right now if you do not choose to be responsible, it will change the course of your life forever. It has taken Angee and Eric from us forever. Who will it take from you? How confident are you? How confident will you allow yourself to become?
I have to tell you these are some of the best years of your life. Make good decisions and have fun. Get involved in sports, music, drama, and youth groups and set a good example for the younger kids in your family and in your community.
For example, if you were to place the GET A RIDE, DON'T DRINK AND DRIVE sticker on your car, they would see the courage it takes to display these items and that you are making a difference in your community. My husband's hopes are for me to try and help you come up with solutions. I truly believe if you make that promise to yourself and other, to never get behind the wheel after you have drinking, you can make a difference in someone else's life.
BE RESPONSIBLE. GET A RIDE, DON'T DRINK AND DRIVE.
Because there is just too much to lose!
I do this in memory of Angee and Eric and all whose lives have been altered by the misuse of alcohol.
NANCY'S STORY SHE HAS SHARED...
I was traveling home from Sioux Falls to my home town of Brandon, when I had to pull over just outside of the city limits to make way for an ambulance. It was traveling at a high rate of speed, until it passed me, it slowed down, and turned off its lights. I thought to myself, oh my God, someone has died. That is when I decided to follow it. I thought to myself it could be someone I know. I sped up and remember thinking maybe they are going to the old folks home, if so, they will take a left on Splitrock Boulevard. They took a right. My heart started beating faster and faster. I started screaming go straight, go straight! Don't take a left, go straight! They took a left. That is when I saw all the flashing lights. That's when I knew many lives were going to change forever.
A car and a truck had collided head-on. I was told that three young people were involved and that the two in the car had been killed on impact and the driver of the truck was still alive and that he had been drinking. No one had to tell me their names after hearing the description of the car.
I knew at that moment it was my 16 year old son, Eric, and his girlfriend, Angee. Their lives were taken in a matter of seconds by someone who choose to drink and drive. It was 8:00 p.m. on a school night. They never had a chance. Angee was driving the car and she never even had time to tap on the breaks. They were trapped on the bridge. The young man that took their lives had just turned 21 and he had already been given so many chances. His blood alcohol that night was .20, double the legal limit, and it wasn't until hours later that this young man had to be told what he had done. He thought he had just wrecked his truck. He had no idea he had taken two lives that night.
Angee and Eric had so many plans and dreams for their lives. They had just started the second semester of their junior year of high school and had planned all their classes together. Angee wanted to be a graphic artist. She was taking classes through the mail and planned to go to Southeast when she graduated from high school. Eric loved chemistry and wanted to go to school to become a pharmacist. We found an application that he had filled out at Lewis Pharmacy. He planned to move to Colorado and get his residence so he could go to school, ski and snowboard.
Angee and Eric both loved to write and draw. They both kept journals. Angee's last entry was: "Today is our 8 month anniversary. I hope we do something special tonight." Angee's mom said they were just hanging out and planning what to wear to prom. Maybe that was what was special about their night, maybe he asked her to prom. I guess we will never know. In Eric's journal there was not an entry for that day, but we found this poem that has inspired me to share their stories with you. The poem is entitled "Young Life".
Can you imagine what it was like for the kids at Brandon Valley High School when they walked into those rooms each day and saw those two empty chairs, knowing their friends were gone, and nothing they could do could change that. Well, I believe we can change. We can make a difference in someone else's life. If each and every one of you could stop just one person from getting behind the wheel after they had been drinking, you will have made a difference in someone else's life. You may never kow how it helped, but I believe that you will feel it in your heart and you will know that you made a difference in someone else's life.
This will not be easy. Like Eric said, "Which we know for a curious mind, is harder than what you are to find." Alcohol is all around us. It's everywhere. We as adults try to put it so far out of your reach, or make it look so good, that you may be even more curious about it. Laws are even being changed so it is harder for you to get it. We do this to try and protect you from it. Eric was only 16, what did he know about this? He knew that there were a lot of kids making the wrong choices to have written that poem.
You see, this is a mistake you can never undo. Never take back. Never change. Never fix. Have you ever heard that we learn from our mistakes? Well, this is one mistake you can not afford to make and learn by it. It will cost you too much. That is why I want to help you to make the right choice in your life, without having to experience it firsthand. I want you to make the responsible choice to "Get a Ride, Don't Drink and Drive". This needs to be a lifetime promise. Not just one time, but every time you go out drinking - For a Lifetime. Each time you know you are going to be surrounded by drinking please remember this promise you made yourself today.
One thing that scares me the most now is that it could happen again to my family. That makes me feel so helpless. So I am going to do whatever it will take to insure my family and friends safety.
My daughter said to me, "How can these kids know the right decisions when they see the adults in their lives drinking at family gatherings and other events and then drive home after?" It is just as wrong for them to drive as it is for you to drive. Continually breaking the law whether it is driving under the influence or twice as bad drinking under age and then driving.
Everyone at the trial said the driver was a wonderful kid. The judge asked this young man about the 5 empty beer cans in the front of the passenger side of his truck. This kid was so honest he said they were from the night before. You see the more he did it, the more confident he became. You see this is happening to good people each and everyday. It's not because they stopped being a good person. It's because alcohol and drugs cause people to make bad judgement in their lives. I want to tell you right now if you do not choose to be responsible, it will change the course of your life forever. It has taken Angee and Eric from us forever. Who will it take from you? How confident are you? How confident will you allow yourself to become?
I have to tell you these are some of the best years of your life. Make good decisions and have fun. Get involved in sports, music, drama, and youth groups and set a good example for the younger kids in your family and in your community.
For example, if you were to place the GET A RIDE, DON'T DRINK AND DRIVE sticker on your car, they would see the courage it takes to display these items and that you are making a difference in your community. My husband's hopes are for me to try and help you come up with solutions. I truly believe if you make that promise to yourself and other, to never get behind the wheel after you have drinking, you can make a difference in someone else's life.
BE RESPONSIBLE. GET A RIDE, DON'T DRINK AND DRIVE.
Because there is just too much to lose!
I do this in memory of Angee and Eric and all whose lives have been altered by the misuse of alcohol.