Whisper n Thunder

The Whisper of Native American stories, the Thunder of stories that demand to be told.

An Avoidable Tragedy

An Avoidable Tragedy

~ Bob Schmidt

I was working at my desk in my studio, finishing a new piece of artwork, a portrait for my sister that reflected our grandmother's history as an Eastern Cherokee. Little did I know that our life was about to change. As I neared completion I heard my police scanner break the silence. "Accident at the stoplight on Walnut Street in front of the Wal-Mart store! Injuries with extrication needed, page Fire and Air Ambulance."

A pickup truck traveling at a high rate of speed collided with a car sitting at a stoplight. The police estimated that the truck was going 70 miles per hour on impact; the car was struck with such force it was nearly crushed in half and pushed into another car.

Later that night I received a text message from my wife Melony. The message said that the person inside the car at that accident was my 31-year-old niece - Laura Jean. I had no idea who the victim was from the scanner, as the police don't report victims' names on the air.

Police, Fire Department and Ambulance services arrived at the scene of the accident. They proceeded to cut the roof off of the vehicle, and extricate Laura Jean from the car. She was still alive, but barely hanging on to life. EMT's performed CPR on Laura several times on the

way to the hospital, nearly an hour away.

On the way to the hospital I could only imagine what I would find. After arriving I walked down the hallway, I saw many family and friends standing, sitting, talking and crying. A few at a time the nurse allowed us in to Laura's room to see her. It was strange to see her laying there, on life support. She seemed to be just asleep. My sister Janet, Laura Jean's mom, was on her way back from San Diego. Meanwhile the doctor took several of us in the family aside and proceeded to tell us there was no hope for recovery. The doctors were basically waiting to talk to Laura Jean's mom Janet. Laura Jean remained on life support as she was an organ donor. The doctor discussed when it was time to "Pull the Plug" would be after Laura's viable organs were retrieved for transplanting to recipients that were on the Organ Donor Transplant List. The Transplant Team later said

that Laura Jean saved at least four lives with her organ donations.

How could this happen? Laura did nothing wrong. All she did was to go to Wal-Mart for groceries; fortunately she did not have the two children with her at the time of the accident.

At the accident, the driver of the truck who hit her tried to escape on foot. Police quickly chased him down and arrested him. He was tested for sobriety and found to be drunk. When the police ran his license they found that the driver of the Truck was on Probation for his fourth "DWI" (driving while intoxicated) conviction at the time of the accident. How could someone like this even be out walking free, much less allowed to drive after 4 DWI convictions? The State and County authorities agreed, and decided to make an example of the driver of the truck - Frederick Thornton. They filed 2nd Degree murder charges against him due to his repeated convictions, and after discussions with the attorneys involved, Thornton plead guilty to the charges. The judge set sentencing for Nov 21, 2011 , nine months after the accident.

Most of our family was there to hear the final sentence. The Judge called my sister up to the stand to read her victim impact statement. You could hear a pin drop as Janet began to tell about her loss; words cannot describe the atmosphere in the courtroom. As she calmly but tearfully read what her daughter meant to her and the family, she looked to Thornton and asked him if he'd really comprehended what he had done. Janet showed him pictures of Laura Jean in life, and in the hospital, as well as the pictures of the mangled car she was in. Thornton looked on in his shackles, with his family and friends looking on; they sat silently on the other side of the courtroom. It appeared obvious to all that the photos and words being told were hitting him hard. After Janet finished, the Judge asked Mr. Thornton if he really expected the court to believe that he was not a danger to society. Thornton's lawyer tried to convince the court that he needed a reduced sentence. The Judge was outraged! He picked up the statement Janet had read to us all, and opened to the page with the picture of the mangled car. He held up the picture towards Thornton, and in an indignant tone of voice asked Thornton, "Do you honestly believe that you didn't think anyone in that car was hurt? Why didn't you stop to see if they were all right? Why did you run instead of going back to check on the driver of the car?"

After the Judge considered the defense, and Janet's statements and that of the families, he stated that Mr. Thornton would be sentenced to 25 years in prison for the 2nd Degree Murder of Laura Jean, and 5 years for his "5th" DWI Conviction, and 4 years for parole violation because he drank and drove. A total of 34 years in State Prison. A hard sentence for sure for a 31 year old who may not see freedom possibly till he is 65. It is a difficult thing to swallow that not only his life is changed obviously forever, but that of all of the families involved. All for a bad decision to have several beers. How long will this sting for all of us? The heartache, the loss and the impact will not be soon forgotten. We will remember Laura Jean for all the 31 short years we had with her, and we will Forever Miss Her.

PLEASE don't Drink and Drive.

This article Is in Memory of Laura Jean Fisher, it is our Hope that this will help convince others to not Drink and Drive.

If you Drink, Please us a designated driver. Don't let this be your story.

CDC Vital Signs: Drinking and Driving: A Threat to Everyone

"US adults drank too much and got behind the wheel about 112 million times in 2010. Alcohol-impaired drivers* are involved in about 1 in 3 crash deaths, resulting in nearly 11,000 deaths in 2009.

*These drivers had blood alcohol concentrations of at least 0.08%. This is the illegal blood alcohol concentration level for adult drivers in the United States."...

"The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) states that in 2010 for American Indians and Alaskan Natives:

Percent of adults 18 years of age and over who were current regular drinkers (at least 12 drinks in the past year): 50.9%

Percent of adults 18 years of age and over who were current infrequent drinkers (1-11 drinks in the past year): 13.6%"

References:

CDC Statistics - http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/alcohol.htm

The drawing referred to is Ibcali - Wind Dancer. It can be found at the author's website:

http://www.artwanted.com/imageview.cfm?id=1036361&SGID=21188

Banner Graphic: www.firstpeople.us