[ChaseDale3and8]

Keep us updated on David's condition. Hopefully he will make it, learn something from this and never do it again. I really hope that he pulls through this. His family and friends have suffered enough already. They are victims of this tragedy as well. Whoever saw him leave wherever he was at last must be carrying around a lot of guilt right now for not stopping him. They should have hog tied him and taken his keys by force if they had to, and found him some transportation home.

I wish that someone had stopped me that night 17 years ago when I rolled my truck after I thought that I had a big red S on the front of my shirt and was so invincible. I was 24 at the time. I'm still paying for it to this day, and will continue to do so until the day that I die. I have constant neck and back pain from it, (broke my back and neck) and sometimes some really severe headaches, but I'm still alive. I thank God that nobody was with me, and that I didn't hit anyone else when I wrecked. I couldn't live with that if I had hurt or killed somebody else due to my ignorance while I was out having "fun".
I'm just lucky that this was all that I got as a result of being stupid one night.

I learned from my mistake, and don't drink alcohol at all anymore. It's not just you that it affects once you make the decision to drive in a drunk condition. You're just playing Russian Roulette, and no matter how many times you got away with it in the past or present, the day WILL come that it will catch up with you. Getting a DUI isn't the worst thing that can happen as a result. Waking up in the hospital not knowing where you are, then being told that you had a wreck when you know that you'd been out drinking all night, and the first thought in your head is that you may have killed somebody, is the worst that can happen. Not to mention what I put my family and friends through. It was like living in hell.

My friends that tried to stop me said later on that they should have all ganged up on me and tied me down that night and took my keys till I slept it off. They all learned a lesson from my mistake too. They felt a lot of guilt for not trying harder to stop me, but I told all of them that it wasn't their fault, that I was the one to blame since I decided to be stupid that night.

I have given rides home to friends of mine that have called me too drunk to drive home since this happened to me. Like someone said on this post "I'd rather lose a couple of hours sleep than go to a funeral". I couldn't have stated this better myself.

We all make mistakes, especially when we are young. Hopefully good sense will take over eventually, and we learn not to do stupid things as we get older. I know that I'm not the only one here that has ever driven drunk. If you are still doing it, take this post as a lesson and STOP!!!

I really like the idea of the bumper sticker! I want to buy one of them myself after they get made. I wish you the best on a speedy recovery, and when you get healed up and buy another old truck, if you need some help with it just give me a shout, because I'm just up the road from you! ...Joe