Two separate tragedies on opposite sides of the country resulted in one awful, violent day. Yesterday 11 people died in two car crashes involving drivers speeding the wrong way. In Florida, an SUV driving against traffic hit a Hyundai Sonata carrying four young men, fraternity brothers. And in California, a driver in a Camaro slammed into two cars, killing six people, including a family of four.
The driver in that second accident has been identified as Olivia Culdbreath (21), and she's been charged with six counts of vehicular manslaughter and felony driving under the influence. Culdbreath was traveling over 100 miles per hour. She's in custody but in the hospital recovering from a broken femur and a ruptured bladder. The driver of the SUV in Florida is also suspected of driving under the influence but perished when his car burst into flames.
So six people in California and five people in Florida died in horrific car crashes -- both drivers apparently under the influence, both driving the wrong way at high speeds. Because two people were foolish, 10 innocent people lost their lives -- people with friends and family, with people who loved them and will miss them.
It's awful that two individuals chose to drive when they were too intoxicated (allegedly). But were there others around them who noticed them getting into their cars -- but didn't try to stop them? I wonder if they now regret not intervening. They could have saved lives.
Have you ever stopped someone from driving when they were intoxicated?