When my 16-year-old daughter glided to the end of our driveway on her rollerblades, blew me a kiss, and promised to be right back from a quick skate along the designated bike path through our neighborhood, the future I saw for her was as bright as our Florida sun. Hours later, the sun in my life went dark when a police officer came to my door to deliver the news that a drunk and marijuana-impaired driver had hit and killed my Helen Marie.
When the 17-year-old girl who had been knocking back tequila shots and consuming marijuana got behind the wheel of her car that afternoon in 2000, no one not the friends who joined her, nor even the car itself stopped her from driving. No one made her slow down when she sped along at 60 mph in a 30 mph zone. No one took the wheel of the car while she veered onto the bike path and slammed into my daughter.