Forty-five years later, crash scars remain unhealed

On a chilly January evening in Birmingham, Michigan, a Buick Skylark with five teenagers was struck head-on by a Ford Galaxy driven by a young man who had been drinking. Three of those teenagers and the driver of the Ford were killed. It was 1965. 

The stunned responses of those who knew the three kids included everything you might expect in 2010. "They had their whole lives in front of them." "A bright future." "Such good kids."

 What you might not expect is the persistence of that cold night's gruesome events more than 40 years later.

Many, many lives were interrupted that night. And their story is compellingly told in the 2009 book Henderson’s Light, by Columbus Dispatch writer Jack Torry.

"It's a wound that just never heals," says Paul Fleming, a friend of the victims. "I have no idea why this happened. There is no reason."

For Torry, there is a very clear reason: an intoxicated 22-year-old climbed behind the wheel of his car.

"The best thing I can tell people," he says, "is this is a totally preventable accident. This should never happen. Don't drink and drive."

Torry was 13 and also living in Birmingham at the time of the crash:

"They towed the two cars up to local gas stations, and you saw them there for the next week. There was a Buick Skylark that looked like it was about half of its size, and there was a Ford Galaxy convertible that looked like a V. Those memories just stuck with me."

Sadly, as the book unfolds, readers realize that those memories stuck even more fiercely to everyone touched by the crash.

Today, as we continue our campaign to end distracted driving and reduce all road fatalities, I can't help but wonder if those who refuse to listen to our safety message understand the scale of the hole a crash rips into a family, a circle of friends, an entire community.

Since that 1965 crash, Jack Torry estimates that half a million more people have been killed in drunk driving crashes. And that means a lieftime of loss for far too many families.

As National Teen Safe Driving Week continues, I urge everyone to get the message. Drunk driving kills. Distracted driving kills. Excessive speed kills. And seat belts save lives.

Please, let's stay safe. There are some lessons best not learned firsthand.

 

Comments

[Diana Johnson]

TY 4 a wonderfully stated Post! I can't think of 1 way 2 improve this article!! IF ONLY we could get EVERY driver 2 read this concise essay, I think R problems w/ Distracted Driving would hav traveled a lonnnnnnnnng way 2wards the solutions in the "Drive" 2 STAY ALIVE!!!

[Michael E. Bailey]

These major accidents involving drunk and distracted driving are bad for all concerned and no effort should be spared to get their numbers reduced if not eliminated. Another good safety tip is to have the cell phone for emergencies but keep it in the glove compartment while driving and if you do need to use it, find a safe location to park the car first, then call on the phone.

I can remember as a child growing up my mother took the Parke County newspaper for many, many years. Parke County is a rural county and the roads were 2 lane some times dirt roads. And 2 or 3 times a year you would read about drunk driving accidents on the roads there and the damage done and the people killed. In a small rural county like Parke County, one drunk driving accident can have a big impact on the whole county. Best w2ishes, Michael E. Bailey.

[Anthony]

Nice post, I think we all have had someone we know a friend or maybe a family member killed because of drinking and driving. It always seems the ones who were not at fault have suffered or lost their lives, creating a lifetime of turmoil for family and friends. Drunk driving is always going to be a problem until something is done. I wish there was a real solution because it so easy for someone to get into their car and drive after drinking.

I think they need to do more in the schools and in the education system to start and then lead on to other public prevention methods.