A Parent’s Worst Nightmare

Imagine the following…driver and his passengers (all of whom are seventeen or eighteen years old) go to the Serra Bowl on Junipero Serra Boulevard in Daly City one Saturday Night.  Afterwards, the kids decide to hit up a party on Ocean Avenue in San Francisco.  Alcohol is consumed.

Just before the sun comes up, the young friends all pile into a vehicle and begin driving toward South San Francisco, when traffic comes to a standstill.  In what seems like only a moment, the teenage driver begins chatting with his passengers about the music on the radio and stops paying attention to the road.

All of a sudden, heavy traffic appears in front of the vehicle.  Perhaps the driver didn’t realize that an accident scene just a few miles up was causing a long back up on the freeway.  By the time the driver spots the cars in front of him, it is too late and he reacts by swerving out of control in order to avoid impact.

The car shoots across two lanes of traffic before plowing into the rear of another car and finally coming to a stop.  Nobody in the second car is injured.  But the seventeen-year-old girl in the backseat of this car is killed in the crash, while the others walk away with minor injuries (including the driver).

Unfortunately, this is not just a made up story.  In fact, this very scenario played out just a few days ago in Redwood City and The San Mateo County Times first reported the story on their website.

According to the report, a South San Francisco teenager is currently facing felony DUI charges for a car accident that happened early Saturday morning on February 8, 2011 that resulted in the death of a 17-year-old girl.

Additionally, the victim’s mother, also of South San Francisco, said her daughter would have turned eighteen this month and added the following; “She was full of energy, full of life…she lit up the room when she walked in,” according to the Times piece.

Finally, at his recent arraignment in San Mateo County Superior Court the driver faced “several felony charges including vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, gross negligence and driving under the influence causing injury,” according to the District Attorney via the Times.

To read more about this tragic event please visit: http://www.mercurynews.com/san-mateo-county/ci_17324186?source=most_viewed&nclick_check=1.