I remember the horrible day as if it was yesterday.  I was at home making dinner and watching the news, when I heard about one of the most senseless tragedies in recent history.  It was the story of a wife and mother, Diane Shuler age 36, who filled her minivan with four precious children before taking off from Hunter Lake camp site, leaving her husband to take another vehicle.  It was around 9:30 in the morning on July 26 2009.  Along the way, Shuler had made several stops, one at a restaurant and another later at a gas station. 

At some point during the tragic drive, one of the children from the minivan had called her father, telling him that Diane was having difficulty speaking and seeing clearly.  It was shortly after a horrifying trip of swerving and veering back and forth, leaving the Tappan Zee Bridge behind them crossing eastward, the minivan travelled 1.7 miles on the wrong side of the road.  Just after 1:30 that afternoon, the unspeakable happened.  Diane ended up careening into oncoming traffic, killing everyone in her vehicle save one little boy, along with two innocent men who were guilty of nothing more than being at the wrong place at the wrong time. 

It was later found that Diane Shuler had been heavily intoxicated during that fateful drive.  She had, in fact, the equivalent of ten drinks in her system.  There was a broken Vodka bottle on the passenger side of the floor of the minivan, more evidence of a woman out of control with alcoholism.  There were even two hours of time that were unaccounted for.  Could Diane have left the camp site sober, only to pull over to a rest stop and guzzle vodka, her precious cargo unable to help themselves in any way?

Her husband vehemently denied any wrong doing by his wife, even at one point stating that she had used a benign product called “Anbesol” for a tooth ache she’d suffered with.  He also blamed the crash on other strange issues, such as a moving lump in her leg and the like. 

Just as if a copycat incident a few days ago, I heard of a 31 year old mother, Carmen Huertas became intoxicated at a friend’s house, packed seven children into her sedan, and in the early morning hours on a Sunday, smashed her vehicle into a guardrail, flipping over and killing a beautiful 11 year old girl Leandra Rosado.  This woman even had the audacity to ask the children “Who thinks something`s going to happen? Raise your hand. Who thinks we`re going to get into an accident?”  All of those terrified little passengers raised their hands.  Imagine how frightened they must have been in the moments preceding the crash!

The reason I am writing about these two horrific crashes is to address the question that begs for an answer.  When will society stop calling alcoholics “Victims” and force these people into taking responsibility for their actions? 

It is stated in the DSM that alcoholism is a disease.  I am not a doctor, so I will not protest to that.  However, I take offense at some of these alcoholics who compare themselves as someone who suffers with cancer, and that they are not truly responsible for their actions (I have a disease…It’s not my fault) Society gives them the “poor you,” pats them on the back and sends them on their way, permitting them the opportunity to victimize and even kill innocent people in their wake.

What angers me further, is when they not only endanger their own lives, but the lives of other innocent people.  Of course, this doesn’t only pertain to alcoholics, but to anyone who drives under the influence of alcohol or drugs, including over the counter drugs and prescription medications. 

When is society going to stand up and force people who make deadly choices to take responsibility for what they do, even if they indeed do have a disease?  Nobody in this world can tell me that people like Diane Shuler and Carmen Huertas didn’t make the conscious decision to endanger children’s lives by strapping them in and drinking and driving.  These drunk moms knew what they were about to do, but showed no regard for their lives or the lives of those poor kids.  They knew they were either drunk, or about to drink, yet that didn’t stop them from making a deadly decision which would destroy countless lives. 

I think that we must start implementing some serious consequences for people who drink and drive, including serious jail time, even charging people with intent to kill when they choose to drink and drive.

We should also consider taking people’s driver’s licenses away FOR LIFE if they are caught behind the wheel under the influence.  I believe that driving under the influence is less a mistake, and more of a choice that some people choose to make.

When we take personal responsibility away from the alcoholic or user, we also take away their power.  What I think is that if we just say “Poor you, you have such a terrible disease” we are robbing them of their need to make a correct decision.  When has society become allergic to that word:  responsibility?

I must also take offense to said persons comparing alcoholism to cancer.  People who suffer with cancer rarely have the opportunity to stop having cancer.  People who have serious diseases do not ask for it, and if they were given a choice to fix their problem would do so in a heartbeat.  Many alcoholics don’t see things that way at all, in fact they may fight for their right to drink or take illicit drugs.  Once again I am not suggesting that alcoholics don’t have a disease, but please folks, let us not compare it to people who have absolutely no hope for recovery from their ailments.

I am not a teetotaler myself.  I enjoy the occasional glass of wine, even a beer sometimes but I make sure that I have money for a taxi.  I don’t drive (by choice due to night blindness) and I will not get into a vehicle with someone who is drunk behind the wheel. I don’t think there is anything wrong with an age appropriate person enjoying libation responsibly. 

How many Diane Shulers will have to happen before we tell people like her that we will not stand for their bad choices, and that we will NOT tolerate anyone who endangers the life of anyone, especially children who cannot speak for themselves.  Diane escaped criminal charges simply because she died in the crash.  I pray that all of those people hadn’t died in vain, and that at least one person will learn from their story.  Will we only act if a member of our own family dies like this?

Just my Humble Opinion