A parenting site where Bethany and her family were much loved (and still are) are torn apart evey December. They are torn apart every year that Vadie’s birthday passes. Or when Bethany’s birthday passes by.

I don’t care if Gagnon is upset over what he did; he had a choice. The Griffins didn’t. Now, every year, they have to be reminded of what’s missing around the Holidays. They have to fall apart during a time that should be filled with love and happiness. They have to visit graves instead of houses. They have to leave flowers and tears instead of gifts and laughter.

My deepest sympathies are with the family and friends of the Griffins who tragically lost their lives, at what must be an extremly hard time of year.

He’d just finished up drinking up and smoking marijuana with his cousins and brother. He’d had an argument that no one to this day will share the details of, but he went outside, punched some numbers in the keyless entry of the truck and drove down a couple of blocks to order a “Mexican Fiesta.” A phone call was made, but Jacob couldn’t stop this fool. Michael realized the gig was up, as he bumped over the curb in his hurry to run from the cops. He even passed the cops as he peeled out and turned onto the wrong way of the on ramp. He drove for miles, passing swerving cars on the wrong side of the victory bridge until he found his victims.

His loaded pickup sheared through the family passenger car like a knife, where metal parted and seats were hurled, human bodies were lacerated, tossed and crushed. Danny came too a few moments later and saw Bethany. She was just dead, there was no way she could have survived being hurled out. He couldn’t find Jordan, his daughter from a previous marriage–she was under the car. Haley and Lacie were dead, girls who’d been a Pirate and a mermaid only a few months before, and Ravens Witches for the football games a little more recently, were now simply dead. 8 week old Vadie, was alive, but nothing could save her. She’d been shaken so hard an English Au pair couldn’t have done worse. She’d be dead at the hospital in a few minutes. Sydney would be in critical condition. Danny would be in a neck brace. Beau would be tortured by nightmares. Brett would wish he could have done something.

Gagnon would plead not guilty. His attorney would struggle to get everything he could thrown out, then switch to a plea of no contest against all reasonable evidence. Gagnon’s family would bitch and moan here for days, right up to the appeal. Then the friends… so many of Gagnon’s friends would argue unintelligibly, too blind to consider so many lives lost weighed against their missing drinking buddy. How pitiful.

If you have family, give them a hug. If you have a friend, thank them for lasting another day. If anyone tries to drive drunk in your presence, beat them until they can’t drive or the police haul you away. Make a difference and save a life. It’s 2 years later and it stings the same. It burns with the same fire, the anger just won’t step away. It will be like this until the day something takes the memories away.

Driving Drunk is attempted murder. Driving Stoned is attempted murder. Doing both is both suicidal, thoughtless, careless and unconscionable. If you’ve ever driven drunk, make sure it will never happen again. If you ever find yourself driving drunk, stop and sleep it off in the car. End this. Just end it.

He knew the consequences of his actions would be dire. He had a chance to get a lighter sentence by pleading guilty to all charges. He hedged, he hawed, he bucked the responsibility for the system and chose the wrong path again and again and again.