Drunk Driver Uses His Story to Memorialize His Victim
At the age of 19, Danny McCoy never thought he would be responsible for the death of a high school senior girl he hardly knew, Alex Everhart. McCoy, a Marine at the time, made the decision to drink, drive and allow a passenger in his vehicle while he was under the influence of alcohol. The night ended tragicallyafter McCoy passed out at the wheel of his car and hit a pole. Alex sustained fatal injuries.
Consequences
The decision to drink and drive cost a family a loved one, the loss of a friend among her peers, and years of heartache in McCoy’s own life. These consequences, including a discharge from the Marine Corps, are painfully clear to McCoy.
In an interview with The Washington Post, McCoy states he still struggles with the reality of the fatal event that happened five years ago. He received a sentence of 18 months in jail and 150 hours of community service. Instead of picking up trash on the side of the road or choosing other forms manual labor for community service, his judge ordered him to speak to young people about the incident that cost the young girl her life.
Healing through Volunteering
Even though McCoy had only met Alex on the night of her death, he grieves over her death and her parent’s loss on a daily basis, and still feels guilty. He has found a sense of healing through the messages he provides teens in health classes, assemblies, videos, programs for offenders and presentations for a local news station. McCoy completed the mandatory 150 hours of community service, plus an additional 72 hours, and he does not plan to stop giving presentations about this occurrence in his life. During the presentations, he tells the audience about the events of the night that cost his and the victim’s family so much. His story is about the ripple effects of one poor decision.
Healing for Family and Friends
To this day, Alex’s family members still struggle with the death of their middle daughter. Mrs. Everhart told The Washington Post,“I keep the door shut (to Alex’s room), but go in often and look around.”
The Post continues: “Everhart still cannot watch videos of her middle daughter; they hurt too much. Birthdays are excruciating, as are holidays and the February anniversaries of Alex’s death. Summers, too—Alex’ favorite time of year.”
The Everharts have created a memorial garden where Alex’s mother plants flowers. Alex’s classmates raised money to purchase a heart-shaped gravestone. In addition, they threw a memorial party at Alex’s grave site for her 21st birthday.
This deeply personal story shows not only how a victim’s family and friends grieve over the death of a young person, but that people deal with their grief in different ways. It also shows how tragically unexpected death can be.
[image: Mike "Dakinewavamon" Kline]
Tags: drunk driver, Grief, memorial
