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| David West |
David West was 12 years old when his family moved from California to the small rural town of Glide, Oregon. Most kids would despise being uprooted from everything they know to settle in the country, miles away from the nearest town, but not David. David fell in love with the county—hunting, fishing, mudding in his truck. He loved the outdoors. David grew up to become an ironworker. It was a physically demanding job, but David loved it and was proud of his work. He married his high school sweetheart, Nikki, and together they had two children.
On January 14, 2006, his sister’s birthday, David was killed in a drunk driving crash at age 29.
After David’s death, Beth’s sister contacted MADD and was provided with victim support materials, which Beth said she found very helpful. She was also assigned a victim advocate—Ann Pratt, whose son was killed in a drunk driving crash. Among other things, Ann helped the West family through the taxing legal process, and Beth credits Ann for “getting their family to where they are today.” When walking into court for the first day of the trial Beth lost it, saying “I can’t do this.” But Ann was there and told her “Yes you can.” Beth says she can’t thank Ann enough for everything she has done for her and her family.
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| Jacob, Dan, David and Lorri West |
Since David’s death, the family has become dedicated to putting an end to senseless drunk driving deaths. Each November, they put on a community awareness event in correlation with MADD’s Tie One On For Safety holiday initiative. Local and state police departments participate in the event and bring their mobile DUI unit and impairment goggles to help the public learn more about the dangers of drunk driving. The event continues to grow each year, and in recent years more than 300 people have attended. David’s brother Dan, a MADD volunteer, has taken lead for this and several other events each year to help raise awareness in the community, in honor of his brother.
Beth, David’s mother, volunteers as a MADD court monitor and victim advocate, As a court monitor, Beth finds comfort in knowing that her presence can help make an difference. She says, “Oregon has good drunk driving laws, they just need to be enforced.” Beth became a victim advocate because she wanted to be there for other victim/survivors and their families, like her victim advocate was for her, especially during the trial. She says, “trial can be an extremely difficult experience. Many drunk driving victim/survivors have never been to court before and have no concept of the criminal justice system. It’s important for victims to know their rights, and that’s what I hope to assist with as a victim advocate.”
On the first day of a trial as a victim advocate, the victim Beth accompanied to court said “I can’t do this.” And just as her advocate had said to her years before, Beth told her, “Yes you can.”
The West family is currently going through a post-conviction appeals process, and through sharing her story, Beth hopes that she can explain to people how stressful and emotional the appeal process can be. Her advice to others is to learn not to take the criminal justice outcome personally and to accept it as part of the system. Learning to do this helped her to manage her own anguish and remain focused on making a long-term difference for others.
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| The West Family |
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