‘Anybody can lose a loved one. None of us is immune.’
Jackson’s Story
Friends and family have endured three painful years since Jackson Vogel of Fayetteville N.C. was killed in a one-car drunk driving crash. Ironically, early in the morning of May 29, 2005, Jackson chose not to go to another bar with a group in Charlotte, where he was visiting a friend. But the 21-year-old Appalachian State University student did choose to get a ride home with his friend’s roommate, who was drunk.
Just two miles from the apartment, the speeding driver ran off the interstate onramp, struck trees and flipped his car several times. Somehow he survived without any serious injuries. Jackson was not so lucky. The crash caused him to slip through his seat belt. He was partially ejected from the car, suffered severe head injuries and died.
The driver’s blood alcohol content (BAC) measured .19, more than twice the legal limit, three hours after Jackson died. He was later convicted of felony involuntary manslaughter and DWI.
MADD’s Victim Services Helps
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| Jackson Vogel and his mother, Lisa |
“I really don’t know what we would have done without MADD’s victim advocate. I really don’t,” says Jackson’s mother, Lisa Vogel. “It’s scary walking through the criminal justice network. We really needed a compassionate, knowledgeable person to walk and stand with us.
“We also believe in paying it forward,” Lisa says. She just completed MADD’s beginning training for victim advocates. The Vogels have also joined the local MADD affiliate in Fayetteville, and Lisa has been active at the state level. They’ve supported the Walk Like MADD fundraiser, she’s spoken to schools and to a law enforcement and district attorneys conference and has accompanied another family through the court process.
“This is something very few peopled can act on. It’s too difficult to speak out, to act on. I can, and Jackson would want me to,” says Lisa.
Life Changes – and Goes On
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| The Vogel family celebrating Jackson's graduation |
Jackson’s father, Hans, has noticed how Jackson’s crash has changed the behavior of his 21-year-old son, Hans Stephen, a new graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. “He has learned to choose his friends more carefully. He distances himself from those who act irresponsibly and he’s spoken out at times to other people,” Hans says.
“At this point, as difficult as some days are, we realize Jackson would want us to somehow pick up the pieces and try to put our lives back together,” Lisa says. “We want to live for our younger son and not have him see us in pain and sorrow."
Lisa wishes other people would realize that this could happen to anyone. “Anybody can lose a loved one. None of us is immune.”
Learn more about MADD Victim Services. Call our Victim/Survivor Helpline at 1-877-MADD-HELP (877-623-3435) to speak with a Victim Advocate.
Make a donation in support of MADD's lifesaving work.