Why We’re Here: Steven Benvenisti
By MADD | July 1, 2012 | Filed in: Drunk Driving , Victim Stories

While on spring break during his senior year of college, Steven Benvenisti was walking with friends one evening when he was struck by a habitual drunk driver driving 50 miles per hour. His legs were crushed upon impact, his head smashed through the windshield of the car that struck him, and his body was thrown 70 feet. 

Steven sustained a severe traumatic brain injury and remained in a coma for 10 days. His parents were called and asked permission for organ donation. Upon awakening from the coma, he did not recognize his parents, could not speak, and had extensive cognitive deficits, including no short term memory, along with severe reading comprehension issues. He spent six months in the hospital, enduring 15 surgeries and intense rehabilitation. 

When Steven learned of his grim prognosis and realized what had been taken away from him because of a drunk driver, he promised that if he had a full recovery, he would spend the rest of his life doing everything he could to end drunk driving. 

After the crash, Steven turned to MADD and found victim advocates in Florida and New Jersey who helped him and his family deal with the challenges from the crash. Amazingly, he fully recovered, went on to law school, and now is a partner at the law firm of Davis, Saperstein & Salomon, where he represents victims of drunk driving and their families in lawsuits against the drunk drivers and those who served them. He has served on the New Jersey Advisory Board for MADD for several years and has recently been named as one of the five new members of MADD’s National Board of Directors.

Steven is also an award winning motivational speaker who shares his personal story entitled “Spring Break.” All of Steven’s speaking fees are waived in favor of a donation to MADD.

Why We're Here: Michael Haynes
By MADD | June 4, 2012 | Filed in: Drunk Driving , Victim Services , Victim Stories

Michael Haynes was a loving husband, an amazing father, son, brother, uncle and a friend to so many.  He loved spending time with his family, playing with his children and his Xbox.  Michael cared deeply for serving and protecting others, which greatly influenced his life and career choices.

Michael joined the United States Army after the attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11th and served his country with pride, courage, honor and integrity in Iraq.  After he was honorably discharged, Michael joined the Montana Highway Patrol in 2006 to make the roads safe for his family, friends and fellow Montana residents—and he was great at his job. In his three years on the Highway Patrol, Michael Haynes received high marks from his supervisors, and was an aggressive enforcer of DUI laws.

On March 23, 2009, Michael was on-duty when a drunk driver traveling in the wrong lane crashed head on into his patrol car.  Michael died from his injuries four days later, leaving behind his wife, Tawny, and two young children.

Following Michael’s death, legislators and other state officials agreed that something needed to be done about the drunk driving issue in Montana and try to remedy their stance as one of the worst drunk driving states in the country.

Michael’s wife Tawny has taken over his passion to get drunk drivers off the road and has become an outspoken advocate for stricter drunk driving measures.  She has worked with legislative committees to examine the effectiveness of Montana’s laws and to see how they can be improved, and was also heavily involved in the passing of the 24/7 Sobriety Program Act for repeat offenders.  Since the drunk driver that killed Michael was reportedly served 13 drinks before he got in his car to drive home, Tawny is also an advocate for stiffer over-serving law and has worked on mandatory alcohol training for servers.

"I want to do the right thing," she said. "I want his death to mean something; I want some good to come out of this."

Why We're Here: Daniel Riemann
By MADD | May 3, 2012 | Filed in: Drunk Driving , Victim Services , Victim Stories

Daniel Riemann was a 25-year-old outgoing, “people-person” with an amazing laugh. Daniel had recently graduated from Kansas University and was just promoted to manager of the retail store where he worked. He had his whole life ahead of him with a very promising future.

After hanging out at a friend’s house after work, Daniel was walking in a crosswalk in the Kansas City town square, when he was struck by a drunk driver. The driver fled the scene, leaving Daniel helpless. Several hours passed before anyone found him or called an ambulance, and when they arrived on the scene Daniel was already dead. This happened early in the morning on Sunday, May, 11, 2008—Mother’s Day.

The Riemanns had an annual Mother’s Day tradition; the family would get together for lunch at Red Lobster. Since Daniel wasn’t sure if he would be able to make the Mother’s Day lunch that year because of work, he gave his grandmother the Mother’s Day card he wrote for his mother to give her at lunch. By the time she opened it, Daniel was gone.

While the Riemanns were at their Mother’s Day lunch, police were still trying to determine Daniel’s identification. He had left his wallet and I.D. in his car. His family thought he was at work, so the fact that he didn’t show up for lunch was not surprising; there was no reason to be alarmed or to start looking for him. They were notified later that afternoon that their beloved son and brother had died after being struck by an underage drunk driver leaving a graduation party.

Daniel was the oldest of four siblings, but was also very close to his extended family. Family and friends were very important to Daniel, and at his memorial services friends from all over the world came to celebrate his life by telling funny stories and memories of their friend.

Now Mother’s Day has a very different meaning for Kelly Riemann, Daniel’s mother. Each year she does something to honor her son, like bracelets or bumper stickers, for everyone who knew and loved Daniel.

This Mother’s Day, we honor Kelly and Daniel Riemann, as well as all others who lost a mother or a child to drunk driving or underage drinking.

Why We're Here: Natalie Evaro
By MADD | April 11, 2012 | Filed in: Drunk Driving , Power of Parents , Underage Drinking , Victim Services , Victim Stories

On October 18, 2008, the world got a little dimmer when Natalie Evaro died in a drunk driving crash.  Natalie’s family called her Miss Sunshine, because she was always so bright and cheerful, and lit up the room.  Natalie, an honor student, was preparing to start her sophomore year at Middle Tennessee State University and had dreams of studying abroad. 

Natalie was working at a restaurant and bar with a very “loose” policy on alcohol use.   Despite the fact that Natalie was only 20, her employers saw no issues with allowing Natalie, and the other restaurant staff, to drink alcohol during and after their shifts; they even provided the drinks.  Early in the morning on October 18th, after grabbing a couple of drinks with coworkers after her shift,  Natalie got in her car to drive home to her apartment.  Unfortunately,  she never made it. At 3:30 a.m., only three blocks away from the restaurant, Natalie crashed into a metal utility pole while exiting the highway and was ejected from her car.  She was taken off life support two days later.

Natalie’s parents, Gene and Melissa, were always very open and had many conversations with Natalie and her siblings about the dangers of drugs and alcohol; they never suspected that she had started drinking.  It wasn’t until after the crash that they found out that she had frequently been drinking at work, and then driving home.  It was a shocking realization to her parent because she was a smart girl who knew better than to drink and drive. But they also know that young people are easily influenced by their peers, and that alcohol causes loss of judgment.

The night of Natalie’s crash, she was the only person to drive herself home from the restaurant; all the other employees took cabs, leaving Natalie’s parents to ask, “Why did no one try to stop her?”

There are a lot of factors that contributed to Natalie’s death, including the restaurant that served a minor, her coworkers, manager and owners that did not stop her from driving, and of course, the fatal decision made by Natalie to drink underage and then attempt to drive.

Natalie’s parents now know that just because your child has left the nest, doesn’t mean your job is done, and they want to share Natalie’s story in hopes of making a difference— in hopes of saving even one life. 

When asked what advice they have for other parents, they said, “Communication.  Don’t think for a moment that when the kids go off to college that our jobs as parents are any less important or hands on.  If anything, this is when you have to really watch what they are doing.  The main thing is to always talk to them. Check out where they are working, who they are involved with and see for yourself that is a good, safe environment for them to be in.  Believe me, it’s worth it.”

It’s because of families like the Evaro’s that MADD created the Power of Parent™ program, to give parents the tools they need to have these lifesaving conversations with their kids.  Even if your kid is a “good kid,” or a “smart kid,” they can still make bad decisions.  Bad decisions like drinking underage, riding in a car with someone who has been drinking, or drinking and driving, that could threaten their lives.

Parents have the power to help kids make healthy decisions that can keep them safe. In fact, research shows that parents are the primary influence on their kids’ decisions about whether or not to drink alcohol.  That’s why MADD created Powertalk21®, the national day, on April 21st, to start talking about teens and alcohol.  Each year, we focus on reaching as many parents as possible, with the vision that April 21st will become widely known as the day to talk about kids and alcohol.  In preparation for PowerTalk21, parents can get tips and conversation starters, download the parent handbook and find a free 30-minute parent workshop at www.madd.org/powertalk21.

Why We're Here: ShiAnn Robinson
By MADD | March 5, 2012 | Filed in: Drunk Driving , Victim Services , Victim Stories

On April 29, 2000, Amie Jo picked up her two and a half year old daughter, ShiAnn, from the babysitters, and planned on running the typical daily errands before her weekly play date with a friend.  But that day would turn out to be anything but typical.

While driving to their friend’s house, ShiAnn and Amie Jo were singing, laughing and enjoying the spring day, until Amie Joe saw a truck heading straight for them.  Despite a desperate attempt to get out of the way, her car was hit by the truck, forcing it to roll several times.  Amie Jo reached back to try to brace ShiAnn from the impact, but was unable to reach her.

When the car came to a stop, she could hear was her daughter screaming, and saw ShiAnn covered in blood from the multiple cuts on her face; the car seat was in pieces.

ShiAnn was careflighted to Children’s Hospital of Dallas where she was immediately taken into surgery, and placed on life support.  After three and a half weeks, Amy Jo had to make a decision that no parent should ever have to make—to take her sweet baby off the machines that were keeping her alive–and on May 24th, ShiAnn died on from her injuries.

To make matters worse, the drunk driver, a repeat offender on probation for a previous DUI, fled the scene.  He was later found, but released on bail and ran for two years before being captured.   At the time of the crash, the driver had an ignition interlock installed in his truck.  Unbelievably, his wife blew into it for him, allowing him to drive drunk and kill an innocent child.   

Despite the amount of grief and turmoil Amie Jo has been through, she continues to honor her daughter.  She is now an active member and volunteer with MADD East Texas, telling her story at MADD Victim Impact Panels® and participating in Walk Like MADD®.  Amie Jo says, “This is hard to cope with, but my love for my daughter keeps me strong and with the help from the people at MADD, I can share ShiAnn’s story and let it be known that this has to stop.”