in september 2012, i made the biggest mistake of my life.
i got in a car with a drunk driver.
i was young, i was careless and i was drunk myself. i hadn't thought to check if my 'designated driver' had been drinking, as i was not with him the entire night. we left the bar that was less than a mile from our apartment with 2 other friends. we spun out of control and crashed, causing the c2 vertebrae in my neck to break in two places. doctors said it was a miracle that i was not paralyzed, or worse- killed. i was placed in a full neck brace for 4 months and went through sessions of physical therapy.
many people ask me what happened to the others in the car. the 2 other passengers were beaten and bruised due to the impact, but for the most part, were okay. the driver fled the scene of the crime, leaving us in the car, and later spent time in jail after months of partying for less than half the time that i spent recovering in my halo brace.
often times i asked myself why. why did this happen? why was i spared from death or paralysis when there are people out there just going on with their day - sober and doing no wrong - who get killed because of a drunk driver?
there are so many terrible things going on in the world, but we do not choose what we become an advocate for. we do not choose what wrongs happen to us, but it's important that we do something about it. that's why i've decided to make the cause to end drunk driving a priority. every year, i participate in a 5k with friends, family + those affected by drunk driving to raise money to help the victims of this 100% preventable crime and to raise awareness so this crime doesn’t happen in the first place.
on average, 2 in 3 people will be involved in a drunk driving crash in their lifetime
every day in america, another 28 people are killed as a result of drunk driving
every 2 minutes, a person is injured in a drunk driving crash
50 to 75% of convicted drunk drivers continue to drive on a suspended license
an average drunk driver has driven drunk 80 times before first arrest
in 2013, 28.7 million people admitted to driving under the influence of alcohol
in 2014, over 1.1 million drivers were arrested for driving under the influence
in 2015, 10,265 people died - one every 51 minutes - and 290,000 were injured in drunk driving crashes
help me end this by simply educating someone who needs to hear the dangers of drunk driving.
thank you for taking the time to read this and thank you to those who have contributed over the years.
xx Jordan