Two Wrongs....

Eighteen years ago, my Grandma Dorothy was killed in a tragic car wreck. She was hit head-on by a tractor trailer that crossed the center line and was driving in her lane. At the time, the driver of the semi was not drug tested, which was an oversight, but evidence seemed to indicate that he was neither high nor drunk. (I'm not going to delve into my belief that any party involved in a fatal car accident should undergo mandatory drug testing here, though.) The punishment meted out by the law? A relatively inconsequential ticket for driving left of center.

For the past 18 years, I've frequently questioned whether or not his punishment was stringent enough because, after all, he took the life of one of the world's most beloved women. It's taken me a long time, but I've finally realized something: his punishment wasn't the traffic ticket he received, but rather the fact that, for the rest of his life, he'll have to live with the knowledge that his inattentiveness killed a sweet woman.

So, how did I come to this conclusion all of these years later? Well, earlier this summer, there was a horrendous accident on the Will Rogers Turnpike in northeast Oklahoma, in which a semi driver's inattentiveness killed ten people. After much testing and research, the media has reported that the accident was solely the fault of the truck driver, and, today, he was charged with ten counts of negligent homicide. I've spent the past couple of months thinking about and reflecting upon this situation and comparing it to my grandmother's accident.

This truck driver is an older gentleman. He very obviously made a horrible mistake that resulted in tragic consequences. But is it necessary to charge him with such a crime? Just like the driver who caused my grandma to die, I truly doubt that this man woke up one morning and decided to intentionally kill these people. I would imagine that it truly was an accident; what I cannot imagine is the amount of grief and guilt that this man must carry with him each day.

Sadly, no legal charge will bring back the lives that have been lost in these two accidents. And while I don't know any of the individuals involved in this situation, I can say that, at least in my grandma's case, the mental anguish that the truck driver has to suffer is more than punishment enough for him.

(Note: in cases where people are drunk or high or doing something completely stupid, like running from the police, and cause accidents, I fully believe that they should be prosecuted to the highest limits of the law.)