I was involved in a head on collision with a drunk driver when I was 17 years old. A friend and myself were on his Vespa scooter when a woman came completely into our lane and hit us head on at 40 mph. Neither of us had helmets on (the law did not require them at the time) and by the grace of God we both survived the crash. My friend was in bad shape, comatose with compound fractures, punctured organs and was lifeflighted to UCSD Trauma Center. I was fairly lucky, escaping with a few cracked ribs, a bruised chest and elbow, a broken toe, a torn leg muscle and a concussion.

The woman who hit us had .19 blood alcohol level at the time she was tested (almost 3 hours after the accident). That was twice the legal limit in the state at that time. She claimed she only had two drinks. Her husband was a passenger in the car and he had two prior DUI's. Neither of us could place her behind the wheel but she did take responsibility for the accident. She had no prior record of any kind.

Before the trial, at the preliminary hearing, I was gung ho to have them throw the book at her. You know, "Boil her in oil" and all that jazz. You see, my friend who was driving the Vespa happened to be the son of a cop. We had the assistant DA on our side and we were out for blood. She had originally pleaded Not Guilty, which made us even more determined. Then we finally got to see her in court.

It was different then. I don't know why? Seeing her face to face for the first time. She looked sad and frail. All we wanted was for it to be over. They struck a deal. Guilty plea to felony DUI w/bodily injury and misdemeanor driving on the wrong side of the road. Loss of license for 4 years and 200 hours community service. Jailtime served... 2 days.

Is that justice? I don't know. She didn't kill anyone. Had she killed me, I wouldn't be typing this now. Had she killed my friend, he would not be celebrating the birth of his first child this month.

If she had killed us, I would hope that at the very least, she would have spent the rest of her life in prison. I know that it was a mistake. But, it was a mistake her husband had made more than once. He didn't learn from it the first time and apparently, she didn't learn from his mistakes either.

If nothing else, maybe our accident scared a couple of drunk drivers off the road before they actually killed someone. Maybe the story of what happened to them filtered down to some of their drinking friends, and perhaps they'll think twice before they drink and drive. I know personally, it has affected my life and I don't get behind the wheel after drinking. I know first hand what it can do.