Straight Dope Message Board

[scarface54345]

Do you personally know anyone who was killed by a drunk driver? 1

[dalej42]

No. Never known anyone killed in a car crash. 2

[J-P L]

Yes, back in 1972 ish, I would have been about 21 and both he and the drunk driver about 19, we all went to school together.

Happened 1/4 mile from my parent's farm around 1:00 am. 3

[Telemark]

Do you count people killed in single car drunk driving accidents? If so, yes, a neighbor back in high school. 4

[Shoeless]

Yes - a girl in our circle of friends in high school was killed in a drunk driving accident. She was the passenger in the drunk driver's car, he went over the center line into oncoming traffic and the car coming the other way hit head-on on the passenger side. 5

[Rushgeekgirl]

Is it a yes if the person killed was the drunk driver? If so then yes. My best friend's brother ran in to a post and died after a long night of heavy drinking. 6

[Personal]

Yes. Both the drunk driver who caused his own death type and the drunk driver who killed someone I knew type. 7

[Beckdawrek]

My Mid-daughters MIL and SIL were killed when a drunk driver crossed over the center line. The driver was hurt really bad but he survived.
I really liked her MIL and the sister was very young age 12. It was a very sad experience.

A highschool friend was drunk and stopped on a railroad track, passed out and a train hit his car. Some say it was suicide. Not sure. 8

[TreacherousCretin]

No. But Mrs. Cretin and I were personally very nearly killed by one, and during the event I thought "Now I'm going to be killed."

1981, Thanksgiving Eve, 8 lane freeway, crowded with holiday traffic (us included). We were doing 65 in the fast lane. Drunk driver speeding in the slow lane lost control, T-boned us at 65 mph. Flipped us over, chaos ensued, our truck totalled. We walked away from the wreckage with horrifying looking injuries that could (should) have been fatal but were actually not severe. ER medics were openly amazed - "I can't belive this! He doesn't even need stitches." One of the CHP at the accident scene told us we shouldn't be alive. Several hours later the reality of that statement finally hit us, and to this day we consider 11-25-81 to be our "Second Birthday." Seatbelts save lives. And the drunk driving penalties in this country are outrageously mild. 9

[aruvqan]

I know someone killed by a drunk driver, and I know someone who got a DUI and caused a multicar incident that resulted in 2 deaths.

I do not drink and drive, I prefer not to have more than 1 drink of anything when going out no mater how long it is between drinking and driving. 10

[OttoDaFe]

Yes, around 1980. Drunk crossed the center line and wiped out two close friends I had worked with to turn a warehouse space into a theater, along with two soldiers in another car.

The assailant (I can't think of another fitting word) came through without a scratch. He already had a DUI conviction and had been remanded to his father's custody on the condition that he didn't drive, but that night he "borrowed" the keys to his father's car and went for a joyride. Father asked at the trial that the driver be returned to his custody; when the judge asked whether he could ensure there would be no recurrence, the father replied, "well, he won't be driving that car again." IIRC, the judge was not impressed. 11

[pendgwen]

My favorite babysitter when I was a kid was killed by a drunk driver. Beyond that all my contact with the perpetrators and victims of drunk driving accidents has been through my profession.

pendgwen, ER doc 12

[engineer_comp_geek]

I had a girlfriend many years ago whose brother was killed by a drunk driver. 13

[Chisquirrel]

My senior year of high school, my mentor was killed driving back from college in Wisconsin for Christmas when a drunk driver crossed the center line and hit his car head on.

2001 was not a merry Christmas for many of us. 14

[Tim R. Mortiss]

Yes, I knew both the driver and the victim, who was a pedestrian wandering in the middle of the road. This was back in college in the seventies, and they were both drunk out of their minds. I was probably drunk out of my mind at the same time, but I was smart enough to do it in a campus bar and then walk home on the sidewalk. 15

[Loach]

I’ve been involved with many fatal DWI accidents over the years. On the personal side a good friend from high school was on a motorcycle and a drunk driver turned left in front of him. Another friend was the drunk driver and she was killed. 16

[Mallard]

I’ve known people killed in car accidents but none where drinking was an issue. 17

[needscoffee]

Forty-four years ago, my then-boyfriend's sister, who was also my best friend's SIL and had been our classmate throughout high school, was overserved booze at a tavern while underage (17) and by herself. She was also on mild muscle relaxers for a horseback riding injury a couple days before. She fell asleep at the wheel coming home and ran off the road into the river and drowned. Her own fault, of course, but at 17 she should not have been served. Thankfully she didn't take anyone else with her. Her family never got over it. She had been the only girl in a passel of sons and was the light of her family's eyes. Still breaks my heart to think about.

All the others I know who've died in car wrecks were either not due to booze (just extreme recklessness), or were distant acquaintances. 18

[Joey P]

Yes, the woman in this article was very good friends with a co-worker of mine, so she'd stop in to say hi from time to time and she'd work at our place during the holidays to pick up a few dollars. I certainly wasn't friends with her, but I knew her well enough that we might chit chat for a few minutes if we bumped into each other outside of work.

This happened recently enough that the driver is still in jail, and will be for the next 3 or 4 years. 19

[China Guy]

D. Boone, singer and guitarist for the Minutemen 20

[Patch]

No, but interestingly, I know three people who were killed when they fell asleep at the wheel, or their driver fell asleep. 21

[ZonexandScout]

Yes. A HS friend (along with his father) was killed in a head-on crash with a drunk driver in 1970. The driver survived.

Strangely, two of my HS friends were murdered on the Alaska Highway several years later, but in separate incidents. No drunk drivers involved. They were both hitching. 22

[Personal]

Originally Posted by Personal

Yes. Both the drunk driver who caused his own death type and the drunk driver who killed someone I knew type.

I should mention that the former was really no surprise. He drove drunk often, and I was thankful he didn't kill or harm anyone else. He was a good friend but had many issues.

The latter, however, was tragic. She was a year ahead of me in high school and was valedictorian and president of the school's chapter of Students Against Drunk Driving, among other activities. She had a bright future but was killed less than two years after graduating from high school. I remember her fondly. 23

[Crotalus]

I have lost a few friends and acquaintances on both sides of the equation: three were killed by drunk drivers and two died while driving drunk. 24

[Buck Godot]

In my Junior year of high school 3 girls in my year were killed and one severly injured by a drunk driver. I didn't know any of them particularly well, but I knew who they were and shared classes with one or two of them. 25

[Procrustus]

Several kids in my high school class died driving drunk or as passengers to drunk drivers. There were at least three unrelated incidents that I recall.

In college, the wife of a good friend was killed by a drunk taxi driver on New Years Eve. They had two young children.

Professionally, I've represented people charged with vehicular homicide and also represented families who have had family members killed by drunk drivers. 26

[Mama Zappa]

None personally.

I do know two people who were killed by hit-and-run drivers; a high school classmate (whom I did not know well), and a co-worker of my husband's whom I did have a fair bit of contact with. No clue whether alcohol was involved in the former case; from witness statements I don't think they suspect alcohol in the latter. Never caught either of the murderers.

Back when I used to babysit a lot, I'm pretty sure the father of the family drove me home a couple of times when he shouldn't have been behind the wheel. I was a dumb teenager and didn't know any better. No accident ever happened, luckily, though in hindsight the time he paid me with a roll of dollar bills (one of which had pornographic images on it) suggests that his judgment was.... not good. 27

[campp]

Two I remember. One was teenager years, and a couple drove off a curve and she died. Another one was an actor I worked with who killed himself in a one-car wreck. 28

[ftg]

A large family we've been friends with for years lost a child (early 20s) to a drunk, reckless, speeding jerk. The jerk came from a prominent local family so a slap on the wrist. 29

[Kent Clark]

I know someone who killed a kid while driving drunk. Does that count? 30

[kopek]

Actually a few. The rough one was a cousin who was drunk himself and a passenger with a non-drinker ----------- who was then t-boned on the passenger side by a second drunk. All three were under 18. My cousin was the only fatality. 31

[pkbites]

Yep. 2 clowns I was in high school with in the mid-70's. We were Juniors. It was insanely easy to get booze back then while underage. I was at a party when they were leaving. Offered me a ride as one of them just lived up the street from me. I declined not because they were drunk, but because I couldn't stand the other guy, also I was playing the waiting game on this girl that was at the party.

Glad I didn't go. They crashed and both died. Plus I made some good time with that chick. Third base coach didn't wave me in but it was still better than dying. 32

[48Willys]

Way too many to list.

At this time I am not in the mood to share any stories of any of them. 33

[RivkahChaya]

I voted "yes," because of two incidents: one of my friends in high school got trashed and killed himself. He was celebrating his first "real" paycheck, and the new BMW he could now afford. He was 24.

Also, once I lived in a house on a road kind of out of the city, where people always drove unsafely, and there were lots of minor crashes, lots of mailbox tragedies, and people kept their pets and children on short leashes. Just about 50 feet east of my house, a hill crested, and the road curved. There was a fat utility pole (actually, a number of poles) right where the curve hit about 45 degrees. Many a bumper was sacrificed to that pole, and many people did 90 days of highway detail, and 365 days of license suspension for hitting the pole while drunk. And I was without power for about 12 hours.

A transformer line went across it, so it wasn't just the street, but about a square mile, including two factories that browned out, so it got replaced pretty fast.

One hot summer night, when my son was a baby, and my husband was away at reserve drill, there was a bang so loud, it may have been the loudest thing I ever heard. The AC went out. Nothing else was on, but it was a hot night, and I briefly thought about going to an hotel.

It sounded like a sonic boom, or a bomb, or something cataclysmic. A car had hit the pole, and the tangle of metal had slid all the way to the end of where it was downed, causing a lot of smoke.

There was a ladder truck, the fire chief, the FD paramedics, two hospital ambulances, and more police cars than I could count. One was parked in my driveway.

I found out later a 17-yr-old with a BAC that was so high, someone was quoted as saying he was surprised the kid was conscious. He killed himself and his passenger. The backseat passengers had to be cut from the wreckage. Everyone was drunk. I don't remember anyone's name, and I didn't know any of them personally, but this all happened about 250 feet from where I slept.

This time it took much longer to get the pole back up, but it was a Sunday.

Before this, I used to wonder why people got into the car with a drunk driver-- duh, if you're just as drunk, it doesn't register. 34

[RivkahChaya]

Originally Posted by pkbites

Glad I didn't go. They crashed and both died. Plus I made some good time with that chick. Third base coach didn't wave me in but it was still better than dying.

Getting two black eyes from her older brother is better than dying. 35

[RivkahChaya]

My jaw is dropping at the number of drunk drivers who just crossed the center line and caused an accident. I always thought drunk drivers were speeding, or running lights, or doing stunts.

I fell asleep at the wheel, and crossed the center line and caused an accident. I was wearing my seatbelt, and so was the guy I hit. Plus, I was in a Geo Metro, and he was in something like a Crown Vic, so we both walked away.

I did not fall asleep because I had been irresponsibly partying all night, or even up watching movies, and then getting up for work-- or not technically drunk, but hungover.

I was on my way to an out-of-town educational seminar that lasted three weeks, and started at 8am, and was a 90 minute drive away. So I had to get up at 5:30, and DH & I had only 1 car, and he worked until midnight. The seminar lasted until 4, I had to drive home, and work for three hours, try to take a nap, which never happened, and then pick up DH.

I tried to catch up on sleep on the weekend, but it just doesn't work that way.

DH was walking a mile to a bus stop during the day, and riding two more miles. The bus didn't run at night. He said he'd walk three miles, but the last mile would be on an unlit road with no sidewalk. I begged him to take cabs, but he didn't want to spend the money. Uber didn't exist (neither did Smartphones).

Thursday of the second week, in the morning, I crossed the line, and totaled my car.

It's not much, but I did learn my lesson. I don't drive tired. I will pull over and take a nap even if I'm on the way to my own coronation. I could be in labor, and I would pull over.

I once called in late to work, and got a verbal warning, over a "too tired to drive" (I had to drive 40 miles) incident. I also let my infant son cry (he was bored or lonely-- he'd been nursed and changed) once while I pulled over. The fact that I slept through his crying for 15 minutes shows how tired I was (he was sleeping when I woke up). I missed a class once, and the professor was pissed, but earlier in the day, I'd been fading while I drove, and I knew I needed to go home, not hang around campus for five hours and drive home after dark.

We really need a public campaign against driving tired. Employers and other people in power coerce other people into driving when they shouldn't, and I don't mean stupid people who can't be assed to go to bed on time-- I mean people are run ragged, and then expected to drive. 36

[River Hippie]

I'm surprised at the number of "no" responses. I grew up out in the country way before Uber and Lyft were a thing. Cars were how you got to parties and bars and how you got home after. In the seventies and eighties drinking and driving was much less demonized than today and I did it myself at times. Up until (I think) the late seventies the neighboring states of MI and OH had 18y.o. drinking ages (IN was 21) and the highways leading to the border towns were notorious for DD accidents. If we included people that crashed their cars and maybe got injured...I've known dozens. Don't get me wrong, I think it's a good thing drunk driving has become unacceptable. I'm just surprised people around my age don't know at least a couple people that died in drunk driving accidents. 37

[Hari Seldon]

I never met the woman but when my DIL was 14 her mother was killed by a drunk driver who ran a red light and T-boned her. The guy who was the coauthor of my first publication was killed the same way, but I never heard the other driver was drunk. 38

[Nava]

People who died in car crashes, yes. Most of them due to driving too fast, though; a couple of cases where the car went off the road and the person not wearing a seatbelt or wearing it in a way that would have gotten them as ticketed went through the glass. Reminder: driving speeds must be adapted to both road conditions and the load in the car, a car that's loaded with everything but a king size bed handles differently than one carrying only its driver.

People who were killed by a driver doing something illegal, yes, but the driver who killed my classmate wasn't drunk, he "just" didn't think those yellow lines applied to his truck. 39

[racer72]

I know of 2. The first was a 16 year old girl killed as a passenger in a car driven by a drunk 14 year old. Driving the wrong way on a freeway. The car they hit was driven by an older woman that was also driving drunk.



The second was a co-worker that killed himself and his wife while riding drunk an a motorcycle. Took a freeway off ramp at about 90 MPH and slammed into a bridge support. They were out celebrating the birth of their first grandchild. 40

[Omar Little]

My great grandfather, a great uncle, and one of their friends, while driving to the lake for a fishing trip. They were hit by a drunk driver. All three died. My father was supposed to go with them, but had to back out of the trip at the last moment. 41

[ioioio]

Once during the juror selection process (I was in the pool), the defense attorney asked for a show of hands of those who had been impacted by a drunk driving death. I was stunned that about half the crowd raised a hand.

The attorney then asked for a show of hands of those who thought their judgement would be affected by this, and only a few hands stayed up.

I lost two young cousins to a drunk driver. A third young cousin was horrifically and permanently disabled. 42

[bengangmo]

Class mate killed a friend of his while driving drunk. He'd left the friend asleep in the car while drinking, continued driving afterwards and both went through the windshield. He got jail time. 43

[Baker]

I don't know personally anyone killed by a drunk driver, but my father was killed by an inattentive driver, who took his eyes off the road to put in a CD. 44

[Iggy]

Two brothers who lived down the road from me as I was growing up both died in a single vehicle DUI crash. It was just the two of them in the car and I'm not sure which one was driving.

I played t-ball as a kid with the younger brother and knew his older brother reasonably well. They were the only two children their parents had and their deaths left their parents broken.


And I knew a young woman who was killed in a DUI crash. The drunk driver was driving a tractor trailer while still drunk from the previous night even at nearly 3pm. He had been out celebrating getting released from jail after serving a short sentence on a prior DUI conviction. 45

[Treppenwitz]

No. And come to think of it, I can only think of one person I knew, and even then not that well (co-worker), who was killed in a car accident. Is that atypical?

j 46

[MarvinKitFox]

A childhood friend of mine, was killed by a drunk driver.
He got drunk at a party, raced off on his motorbike to go fetch some munchies, and drove off a bridge into the river. 47

[pkbites]

Originally Posted by RivkahChaya

Getting two black eyes from her older brother

Who do you think set me up with her? 48

[TriPolar]

Originally Posted by Telemark

Do you count people killed in single car drunk driving accidents? If so, yes, a neighbor back in high school.

Two friends died this way. 49