http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/4997402/

Quote :

"Troopers: Drunk driver claims lives of groom, best man and groomsman Council, N.C. — A drunk driver is blamed for the deaths of a groom, his little brother and the best man. They were on their way to the wedding Saturday afternoon in Council when the unthinkable happened. "I wasn't nervous. It just seemed like everything was just going smoothly,” bride-to-be Angel Bonham said. The wedding was supposed to begin at 4 p.m. at the Council Baptist Church, 322 Council Baptist Church Road. Bonham and husband-to-be Brandon Tedder, 23, had been together for nearly eight years. At 3:30 p.m., Tedder wasn't there. "Everybody's like, 'Oh God, he's got cold feet. He's not showing,'” Bonham said. Bonham's friend made some phone calls about Tedder's whereabouts. "I heard him say, 'and it matches the description of the car?' They were trying to hold on to me, and I just flew over to him and clung to him,” Bonham said. The truth was much harder for her to grasp. "He said, 'Don't make me have to tell you this.' He mouthed the word 'dead.' I said, 'dead? Which one's dead?' He said, 'don't make me have to tell you this.' I said, 'who is it?' He said, 'all three of them,'" Bonham recalled. Tedder, his half brother and junior groomsman, Daniel Sykes, 13, and best man, Brandon Mintz, 19, were inside a red Honda Prelude when it was struck by another vehicle at 3:09 p.m. Sunday on N.C. Highway 214, between Lake Waccamaw and Hallsboro. The state Highway Patrol said a Chrysler Sebring convertible, driven by John Daniel Kelley, 43, of Whiteville, veered crossed the center-line and hit the Prelude head on. Several empty containers of alcoholic drinks were found in Kelley's car, troopers said. "I'm angry, but I can't hate him. That's not the Christian thing to do, and that's not what Brandon would want. Yeah, Brandon would be mad as fire, but I can't let that man hinder my spirituality. And I can't let that man keep me out of heaven,” Bonham said. John Kelley was driving with his 17-year-old son, Michael. The son wasn't seriously hurt, but the father was listed Tuesday afternoon in serious condition at New Hanover Regional Medical Center. After John Kelley's blood sample was taken for analysis, he was charged with driving while intoxicated. Highway Patrol trooper Scott Floyd said the district attorney is reviewing more serious charges."

4/21/2009 6:19:35 PM

and people wonder why I narc on suspected drunk drivers at every opportunity

Just last week I saw a car pull out of Carolina Ale house and as we were driving down the road I noticed he was driving slower than usual and weaving just a little bit. Guess who got pulled over, compliments of my phone call, about 5 min. later on I-40?

[Edited on April 21, 2009 at 6:27 PM. Reason : s]

4/21/2009 6:26:29 PM

that's really sad

4/21/2009 6:30:09 PM

it gave me chill bumps to read. it's the kinda thing you don't think happens in real life ya know? but it happens all too often.

4/21/2009 6:30:50 PM

^^^i have a feeling the guy who was driving in this situation was not driving slower than usual and weaving just a little bit.

but i guess he could have. just reading it the guy veered into the wrong lane.

[Edited on April 21, 2009 at 6:35 PM. Reason : it really sucks that happened]

4/21/2009 6:32:24 PM

4/21/2009 6:32:58 PM

zero tolerance policy

4/21/2009 6:33:30 PM

Quote :

"Two men on motorcycles were killed Saturday afternoon on U.S. 13 North when they were struck head-on by a pickup truck. Charles Poe, 59, of Greenville, and Lenwood Whitley, 57, of Chocowinity, were part of a group of motorcyclists headed south near Hood Swamp Road when a pickup driven by Billy Joe Fowler, 32, of Goldsboro, crossed the center line and hit them about 2 p.m., according to investigators with the state Highway Patrol. Three other people were injured, at least one seriously, said Trooper A.R. Fowler, who is not related to the driver of the pickup. Billy Joe Fowler was charged with two counts of felony death by motor vehicle, one county of inflicting serious injury by motor vehicle, driving while impaired and reckless driving, the trooper said. Fowler, who was the only person in the white Ford pickup at the time of the accident, was being held Saturday night in the Wayne County Jail under $100,000 bond. The names of the injured and their conditions were not known at presstime. The Pinewood and New Hope volunteer fire departments and Wayne County Emergency Services responded to the call. "

http://www.newsargus.com/news/archives/2009/04/19/two_motorcyclists_killed_in_crash/


this was right down the road from my house back home

4/21/2009 6:34:49 PM

and as usual the driver survives

4/21/2009 6:36:02 PM

if everybody was wearing seatbelts, and the collision was head on, how come the drunk driver survived, and his son as well, but all 3 occupants of the other car died?

4/21/2009 6:40:25 PM

saw this headline on cnn and teared up... even more sad now that i read the story

how horrible. i mean for that to happen is bad enough, but on your wedding day? ugh

4/21/2009 6:41:40 PM

Quote :

"And I can't let that man keep me out of heaven,” Bonham said."

4/21/2009 6:42:31 PM

^^^ apparently drunks are more relaxed or something at impact and it gives them a better chance at survival

4/21/2009 6:43:36 PM

Well, I'm not religious either, but i think if something that fucked up happened i would need some kind of delusion to deal with it as well.

4/21/2009 6:43:59 PM

^^^meh she is using that reason not to hate him. i dont know if that is deserving of an imho.

i think that's pretty stand up, at least a hell of a lot more than i could do.

[Edited on April 21, 2009 at 6:44 PM. Reason : ^^]

4/21/2009 6:44:27 PM

this shit happened at least in part because of the fact that there is not enough social condemnation of drunk driving.

If more people would look down on other people for driving after drinking, so that those drunk drivers experienced social consequences for their behavior, we should be able to reduce the incidence of alcohol related deaths. That is why I always make it a point to speak up when someone talks about having driven drunk.

4/21/2009 6:44:54 PM

Oh, it's not that that's her reason to not hate him.

It's that either she's catholic getting married in a baptist church, or her understand of her religion could use some improvement

4/21/2009 6:45:13 PM

Quote :

"and as usual the driver survives"

that's because drunk drivers wear seat belts

4/21/2009 6:45:26 PM

yeah, i'd be hunting the motherfucker down.

we all know the gubment ain't gonna do anything about him

4/21/2009 6:45:28 PM

Her reaction right now just a coping mechanism. Whether or not she truly forgives in the longterm that horrible person who chose to drive after drinking is an open question. I'm sure she'll go through many phases of grief and feel plenty of emotions towards them in that process.




[Edited on April 21, 2009 at 6:50 PM. Reason : s]

4/21/2009 6:46:53 PM

I feel terrible for this girl and for both families. Horrific thing to have happen.

How long do you figure before she's married? I'm gonna go with a year.

4/21/2009 6:47:06 PM

this is easy to fix

all cars should come with a built-in breathalyzer. if the level is above a certain threshold, the car would lock up and not start.

4/21/2009 6:48:07 PM

wow. chills

4/21/2009 6:48:15 PM

attn : udorawala

^^why penalize all of us for a handfull of fucking tards

innocent until proven guilty, by doing so youre saying im going to be drunk every time i start my car

[Edited on April 21, 2009 at 6:50 PM. Reason : .]

4/21/2009 6:48:57 PM

^^^wouldn't make that much of a difference

[Edited on April 21, 2009 at 6:49 PM. Reason : .]

4/21/2009 6:49:38 PM

we should name and shame TWWers who are known to have driven drunk. I'll start:

DemonMonkey
PartyChris

4/21/2009 6:50:32 PM

Quote :

"if everybody was wearing seatbelts, and the collision was head on, how come the drunk driver survived, and his son as well, but all 3 occupants of the other car died?"

According to wikipedia there's about 1000lbs (3419lbs sebring, 2337lbs prelude) of mass difference. Sadly this is why I will never own a compact vehicle.

4/21/2009 6:51:18 PM

Quote :

"all cars should come with a built-in breathalyzer. if the level is above a certain threshold, the car would lock up and not start"

someone would figure out how to circumvent those within months of them being implemented, I'm sure

4/21/2009 6:52:10 PM

Quote :

"Oh, it's not that that's her reason to not hate him. It's that either she's catholic getting married in a baptist church, or her understand of her religion could use some improvement"

please don't steer this thread in that direction

4/21/2009 6:52:20 PM

Way to go ambrosia1231. Way to be intolerant of other people's beliefs in their time of grief! Who exactly is your audience here? Do you even like yourself?

Intolerance shall set you free.

4/21/2009 6:53:10 PM

Quote :

"^^why penalize all of us for a handfull of fucking tards"

huh... how will you be penalized if you are not drunk?

or is it that an extra 10 sec everytime you drive is too much for you?

oh i know, it is that you don't like that you should have to undergo some test when you are innocent... some civil liberty bullshit. i get it. nevermind that it could save thousands of lives each year. "oh noes... what about my rights??? i am not drunk, so why should i take a test???!!!"

4/21/2009 6:54:21 PM

Quote :

"we should name and shame TWWers who are known to have driven drunk. I'll start: DemonMonkey PartyChris"

dude i understand you are against it but get out of here with that crap.

4/21/2009 6:54:28 PM

^^ if the government did everything like that wed be in a communist society.

4/21/2009 6:55:17 PM

this really, really sucks

stories like this on TWW have made me realize how truly terrible drunk driving is

Quote :

"I'm angry, but I can't hate him. That's not the Christian thing to do, and that's not what Brandon would want."

bad ass, girl...you're better than I. here's hoping you find someone else who deserves you and whom you love just as much

4/21/2009 6:56:37 PM

incredibly sad

4/21/2009 6:57:01 PM

Quote :

"someone would figure out how to circumvent those within months of them being implemented, I'm sure"

easy fix for that would be, if they are in a wreck and under the influence and it can be shown that their device had been tampered with, they get charged with premeditated murder.

4/21/2009 6:59:11 PM

DWI LIST OF SHAME
==============
DemonMonkey
PartyChris
Jeepin4x4? Maybe, maybe not, either way he's a DWI sympathizer

[Edited on April 21, 2009 at 7:01 PM. Reason : s]

4/21/2009 7:00:32 PM

^^that wouldn't deter them

[Edited on April 21, 2009 at 7:00 PM. Reason : .]

4/21/2009 7:00:39 PM

yeah i was going to say something similar, Samael

4/21/2009 7:00:47 PM

If blowing a breathalyzer means I have a higher chance of surviving then I'm all for it.

Stupid fucking assholes fucking driving drunk. Fuck them.

4/21/2009 7:03:18 PM

ive driven drunk, yea i said it

do i regret it? yes i do

do i still do it? no

could i have killed someone 4 years ago when i did? yes

what im saying is that some people wake up the next day and realize the repercussions of their actions whether bad shit went down or not. i said id never do it again after i woke up and i havent. you can arrest someone, charge them, take their license, and theyll still do it 3 years down the road.

4/21/2009 7:03:51 PM

Quote :

"what im saying is that some people wake up the next day and realize the repercussions of their actions whether bad shit went down or not. i said id never do it again after i woke up and i havent."

...But how about not even doing it that once?

4/21/2009 7:04:43 PM

That's why you don't give them a second chance. Throw them away for good. Make it such a serious consequence that maybe they'll think twice, or we'll stimulate the economy by building more jails, employing more cops, etc..

4/21/2009 7:05:30 PM

you sit in your tower...

4/21/2009 7:05:36 PM

there's two kinds of people: folks who learn from the mistakes of others and folks who learn from their own mistakes

guess he's in the second group

4/21/2009 7:05:55 PM

i have known people who have done it alot in the past. the ones who get caught and hurt people are people who do it on a regular basis. im not saying that if you do it just once you cant get caught, but he majority of people ive known drove drunk almost every night they went out....and those select people ALL got caught or wrecked while none of the people ive known do it once or twice have.

4/21/2009 7:06:29 PM

Quote :

"Jeepin4x4? Maybe, maybe not, either way he's a DWI sympathizer"

nice assumption asshat. i'm just saying make your own thread for this stuff.

4/21/2009 7:07:45 PM

Quote :

"easy fix for that would be, if they are in a wreck and under the influence and it can be shown that their device had been tampered with, they get charged with premeditated murder."

it really wouldn't stop criminals

criminals, by definition, don't obey the law

in any case, I said they'd figure out a way around it, which doesn't necessarily mean breaking or disabling the device itself... maybe they make some kind of supplemental device to blow into the breathalyzer, who knows

4/21/2009 7:08:10 PM

Quote :

"all cars should come with a built-in breathalyzer. if the level is above a certain threshold, the car would lock up and not start."

this is a damn good idea, actually
it would need some tweaking, but the basic idea is superb

4/21/2009 7:08:29 PM

I very strongly believe that killing someone while driving under the influence of alcohol or illegal drugs should carry a mandatory death penalty.

4/21/2009 7:11:12 PM