Micheal Anthony Reinhardt (Mike, for short) was a good kid, an honor student and was always happy. He loved to play video games and spend time with his family and friends. Mike was looking forward to graduating high school in 2000 and wanted to attend USF in Tampa, because he didn’t want to go too far from home.
Thursday, December 24, 1998 — Christmas Eve — Mike, age 16, was riding in a car with friends on their way to play pool. One minute they were talking about going roller blading, and the next they were rear-ended by a drunk driver who had just been kicked out of a bar. The driver, with a BAC of .18, was traveling at 70 MPH and the impact killed Mike instantly; no one else was injured.
Mike’s mother, Darlene Carothers, believed Mike was out of the country with his father at the time of the crash, so when police officers came to her door the next day, she thought it was a mistake. But it wasn’t a mistake. Mike was back in town and had been staying with friends.
After the crash, Darlene was put in contact with MADD. She says, “MADD was there for me every step of the way, through court hearings and with lots of hugs every time I cried.” After two years of court, the drunk driver was sentenced to 17 years in prison. Darlene says, “It won’t bring my son back, but it will keep another drunk driver off the streets.”
Darlene received the news on Christmas day that her son had been killed — a day she will never forget. Since Mike’s death, she hasn’t been able to put up a tree or celebrate Christmas.
Please remember Mike, and all of the victims of drunk driving, as you celebrate this holiday season, and help us spread the word that drinking and driving don’t mix by participating in Tie One On For Safety®.
Ken Watson was a bright, intelligent boy who made a bad choice when he accepted a ride from someone he barely knew. As a result, he was killed on October 16, 1981—just days after his 14th birthday.
The young man who was driving the car Ken got into that night had been drinking, even though he was underage. He was speeding and ran a stop sign. The car crested a hill and went airborne for 76 feet, and when it landed, it burst into flames. The driver escaped, but Ken was trapped in the car and was burned alive. He was burned over 99 percent of his body. He suffered no other injuries other than the burns.
At MADD’s National Conference this year, Andie Rehkamp, Ken’s mother and now a MADD Victim Advocate, shared her experience with the criminal justice system in support of the Victims Rights’ Constitutional Amendment. She described how she and her husband were instructed to not speak, or they could be held in contempt of court. The driver’s family was allowed to speak at length about what “a great guy” her son’s killer was and how devastating a strict sentence would be to them, but Ken’s name was not mentioned at all. They were not allowed to give a victim impact statement.
Andie said, “I have assisted thousands of victims and their families in the last 31 years and although there have been many changes and improvements, today there are still victims that do not receive notifications of court proceedings, are not consulted before a plea bargain is offered or given the opportunity to give an oral victim impact statement at sentencing. Now is the time to enact the Victim Rights’ Constitutional Amendment.”
Watch the video of Andie’s emotional speech from conference to hear her tragic story in her own words:
Halloween should be a time of whimsy, when both kids and adults decorate and dress up—whether scary or silly, horrifying or hilarious. But for the Dyess family, Halloween in 2010 was a different kind of horror.
Jean Dyess, her mother-in-law Karla and eight of Karla’s grandkids began what they thought would be the traditional Halloween trick-or-treat adventure with a neighborhood friend. As Jean and Karla towed the children across the street, all dressed up and excited for the night’s events, they heard the rev of an engine and saw a truck charging to the top of the hill. Karla pushed the young children surrounding her back, and Jean, carrying her four-year-old daughter, Jennifer, and holding the hand of her seven-year-old daughter Jessika, threw both kids to the curb just before being struck by the truck.
After the impact, Jean was flipped and dragged by the truck for several feet before she was freed from the truck. The driver of the truck turned the corner, stopped to look back, and drove off as his passengers said “you hit her, GO!” Karla ran to her daughter–in-law lying in the street and talked to her until the ambulance arrived. Neighbors who saw the incident jumped in their car to try to track down the driver, but he got away.
None of the nine children trick-or-treating with Jean and Karla were injured. Jean died that night.
Twelve days after Jean was killed the driver was found and arrested. In interviews, he admitted to have been under the influence of both drugs and alcohol, but because he was not arrested until nearly two weeks after the crash, he was charged with vehicular manslaughter, among other charges, but not DUI.
Karla and the Dyess family worked with Mak Walker, a Victim Advocate from the East New Mexico chapter. Mak gave Karla a bit of advice that would greatly assist in the upcoming criminal case—to write everything down while it is still fresh in her mind. It was a difficult and emotional task, but when it came time for trial, Karla was able to refer to her notebook and provide the information from that night to the District Attorney.
The April following her death, the city of Carlsbad, New Mexico held a ceremony in Jean’s honor at the “Our Town Hero” monument at a local park, and dedicated a day in her memory—“Jean Dyess Day.” Each year the Dyess family goes to the monument and releases florescent green (Jean’s favorite color) balloons with messages to Jean. Karla learned that this was a great way to help her grandchildren deal with their loss. “It is hard for them to comprehend death, but writing letters to her helps them with their grief. They call it ‘airmail to heaven.’”
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.
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.
On Saturday, August 18, 1962, the Keeler family had their last fun day together as a family. They enjoyed a family picnic at a roadside park near Flint, Michigan, and afterwards, father Lester, age 38, mother Betty, age 33, sister Kimberly, age 6, and Scott, age 10, all piled into their red 1961 Bell Air Coupe. (In the early 60s seatbelts were not a standard option, and the Keeler’s car did not have them installed.)
On their drive home, they were hit by a 22-year-old male who admitted to drinking at least a six pack before driving. This crash was his eleventh offense.
Scott’s parents and sister were all thrown from the car. Betty, Scott’s mother, died instantly from multiple skull fractures and brain trauma. His sister Kimberly sustained cuts and bruises. Lester, his father, landed under the wreckage with broken ribs and collar bone, and suffered a traumatic brain injury, which changed his personality drastically; he went from being a loving family man and community leader, to somebody unable to care for his family.
Scott was trapped inside the car until a first responder noticed the crumpled little boy in the back seat. Scott was in a coma for three months and when he woke up he discovered that he was no longer the kid who had been playing with his sister and enjoying a family picnic with his parents that August day. Scott had a traumatic brain injury and was paralyzed on his left side. He had a tracheotomy to help him breathe. He was in immense pain, and recalls the nurses having to wrestle with him to get his arm in a sling, and to straighten it out. He had expressive aphasia—the inability to speak. Scott had to re-teach himself the basics: how to talk, walk, put on clothes, use the bathroom and feed himself. Due of the changes in his father as a result of the injuries sustained in the crash, Scott was passed from family member to family member before ending up in a foster home.
The drunk driver was sentenced to two years of probation and 104 weekends in jail. The judge prefaced the sentencing by stating that he “hated to pass such a strict sentence on such a fine young man.”
50 Years Later…
This crash happened before there were things like no-fault insurance, so Scott has had to pay medical bills out of pocket, which continues to be a struggle. He still has medical issues because of the crash that happened 50 years ago. Recently Scott underwent hip replacement surgery due to injuries sustained in the crash. While his is speech is still hard to understand, Scott hasn’t let the crash stop him from living, and thriving. Scott received his Masters of Social Work in 1993—he wanted to help other people and to make more money to pay his medical bills.
Scott and Stephanie at a National Crime Victims' Rights Week event.
One evening while watching the news with his wife Stephanie, they heard that the MADD chapter in Kalamazoo was being shut down. They knew they needed to do something, so Scott and Stephanie both became MADD Michigan Volunteers. Scott began volunteering for MADD in 1988, and he continues to provide help to other victims to this day. Scott helps MADD Michigan find and reach out to crash victims and he and his wife run several of the Victim Impact Panels in their area. Scott speaks to area organizations and at the VIPs about his crash and everybody he meets is touched by how much Scott has overcome. Scott is also a trained facilitator for the Power of Parents™ Workshops.
Scott feels that volunteering for MADD is the most important thing he does. Scott said, “I knew there was not a lot I could do about what happened in 1962, but I want to make things better for the people who are affected by drunk driving now and in the future. I’ve dedicated my activism in loving memory of my mother.”
Micheal Anthony Reinhardt (Mike, for short) was a good kid, an honor student and was always happy. He loved to play video games and spend time with his family and friends. Mike was looking forward to graduating high school in 2000 and wanted to attend USF in Tampa, because he didn’t want to go too far from home.
After the crash, Darlene was put in contact with MADD. She says, “MADD was there for me every step of the way, through court hearings and with lots of hugs every time I cried.” After two years of court, the drunk driver was sentenced to 17 years in prison. Darlene says, “It won’t bring my son back, but it will keep another drunk driver off the streets.”
Ken Watson was a bright, intelligent boy who made a bad choice when he accepted a ride from someone he barely knew. As a result, he was killed on October 16, 1981—just days after his 14th birthday.
Jean Dyess, her mother-in-law Karla and eight of Karla’s grandkids began what they thought would be the traditional Halloween trick-or-treat adventure with a neighborhood friend. As Jean and Karla towed the children across the street, all dressed up and excited for the night’s events, they heard the rev of an engine and saw a truck charging to the top of the hill. Karla pushed the young children surrounding her back, and Jean, carrying her four-year-old daughter, Jennifer, and holding the hand of her seven-year-old daughter Jessika, threw both kids to the curb just before being struck by the truck.
