A member of our church was hit by a drunk driver last Saturday night. She is only 16 years old and was going to the grocery store to get a bag of ice when she was hit head on. She is in critical condition with internal injuries, broken leg, all ribs broken, severe cut to the forehead. She is on a ventilator. They didn't want to do the surgery til she was at 60% breathing on her own, but with infection setting in, they had no choice but to do surgery to set her leg today. They are also doing a tracheonomy because the tubes from the ventilator can cause damage to the vocal cords. This is precautionary because of not knowing how long she will be on the ventilator.

The driver that hit her is a repeat DUI offender. He has lost his license twice and just got it back in September of 06. He was twice the legal limit drunk and the judge at his court appearance released him on $30,000 bond. He is free to drink and drive and possibly kill an innocent bystander. Is our justice system so blind that they couldn't have locked him up since this was his 3rd offense of causing an accident?
I am beginning to have no faith in the judical system.

That is horrible. I know here they put a device on the person's car. And they have to breath into it, each person is given a breathing pattern as their "pass code" to start the car, and it will recognize if they try to get another person to breath into the device for them. If they have alcohol on their breath the car locks up. The device also is computerized and everyday the car is used an automatic computer update is sent to the company and to the courts. This also helps because some people get busted for using the car for other than work related purposes when they are given only work driving priveleges. I will pray for Cassie, surely the damn judge will lock him up. This just sickens me.

Tammy, It just makes me sick to hear about that poor girl. It's awful when innocent people have to suffer because of other people's stupidity. The tracheostomy, if they have to do it, may be only temporary. My son had a trach for the first year of his life after first being on a ventilator for 3 months. Once he had the trach, he was able to come off the ventilator. I hope the same happens with Cassie. I will definitely keep Cassie, as well as her family, in my prayers. Let us know how she's doing.

Tammy--

I will definitely pray for Cassie. About two weeks ago in my hometown, a repeat DUI offender struck and killed someone along side the road that was working on his truck that broke down. If I remember correctly, this was his 4th or 5th offense.

Steelers--
I didn't know that they put that device in a person's car here in OH. Has it been proven to be accurate? I surely hope so.

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BROWNSUGAR!!

i will pray too.

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IN DEBT, BUT STILL BLESSED...

The judicial system is just sick. They show up as the slaves to people with heavy pockets.

I will keep that little girl in my prayers who is just too young to go through all this pain.

I agree!! Money talks

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BROWNSUGAR!!

unfortunately the dui system is all about money, if they lock the drunks up...how will they continue to make money off of them. my prayers are with cassie.

I'm praying for Cassie and her family, Tammy. How awful. The system Steelers describes sounds like a good idea for all states to implement. I personally know someone that has lost their license permanently due to repeated DUI offenses, but continues to drive to work every day, picks up their kids for visitations, etc. And has yet to get caught.

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A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step...and becoming debt free is a journey!

brownsugar, it does work! I've seen a few busted on it, trying to get somebody to breath the pass code for them, and driving the car when they weren't supposed to. It is expensive and the offender has to pay every dime of it, not the tax payers.

That's awful, Tammy! I'm so sorry to hear about that poor girl!

I will keep her in my prayers, and keep us updated on her progress!

Speaking of drunk drivers, this past summer, My daughter and I were watching tv, when all of sudden, I heard a loud crash. I knew it was a car running into something, but I actually thought a car had hit mine. Long story short, my daughter and I both jumped up to see what happened and a car had slammed into a tree across the street from mine doing about 40mph. The driver got out and left the scene on foot, so me and my daughter followed him as I was calling 911. The police came and arrested the guy for DUI, and no insurance. When he went to court, he only had his licensed suspended for 6 months. I bet til this day, that he is still driving.

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BROWNSUGAR!!

Prayers to Cassie and her family!

I am contacting my pray line for Cassie, her family and the medical staff treating her. That breathalizer that is put on the car fro repeat duis is VERY expensive - not only does the driver have to pay to have it installed, about 2k, they have to pay between 1k and 2k to get some kind of bond in order to get their dl reinstated, plus high risk insurance.

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Four things in life that you should never lose-1. Hope; 2. Peace; 3. Honesty; 4. Friends.

She will be in our prayers too. It is so sad when a child is hurt.

Cassie is out of surgery and it went very well. They found out both her pinky fingers are broken but they have them splinted now. She is on 100% oxygen for a precaution and her temp is back to normal. She has a very long and painful road ahead of her, but she will make it just fine with all the prayers and god lending his helping hand. I will keep everyone posted on progress.