Well it's pretty much self explanitory.. R*A*D*D Stands for Radio Artists, Actors and Athletes Against Drunk Driving.. being a member of R*A*D*D i've decided to spread the news and give a personal example of " why not to drink and drive ". I am not an athlete (* though you may have seen me out on the basketball court last year *), or a radio personality.. i am an ACTOR. (** again for clarification i do not know personally any of the bsb, nsync, or britney spears **). here's my reason for joining R.A.D.D. -- enjoy and i hope it helps to change your mind. My story in Italics .. this is a **TRUE** story.

It was 1989 ... i was three, my older sister was six.. my grandmother had *just* died.. my parents were clearing out all of her old things and taking them to the dumpster across the street from our house. My sister was left in the hands of my 2 aunts while my mother and father and i walked across the street (* my father was carrying me-- i could see clearly over his shoulder *) .. well my sister wanted to walk across the street too.. she was very cautious and looked both ways.. the stoplight was red so she walked to the yellow line.. the very second her foot touched the yellow line, a car raced through the red-light and hit her. The driver was a drunken , black male , about 40ish. When he hit her the light changed to green, she bounced off of his car, onto someone else's car and then back to his car where he proceeded to DRAG her for a half a mile under the right front tire of his car. Me being turned around-- i was the only true witness. My dad chased the drunken driver down the street and caught up to him .. by the time the ambulance arrived she was unconcious , bloody, and tire-tracked. She was rushed first to the medical center and then to St. Francis hospitals. There was a chapel at st. francis, my family went in to pray, we all thought that she was a goner.. on the contrary she was still alive, but barely, the medical team worked all night to insert a ventilator to assist her breathing and to clean up her tattered frail little body to the best of their ability... plastic surgeons had to be called in... the next morning at about 5 a.m. she was air-lifted to the children's hospital in Denver Colorado . (* at the time they were the only high-risk hospital in the country*).. newsteams and reporters from all over the country somehow soon caught the story. we spent 2 years in Denver colorado before we were finally allowed to go back home. A trial was put in order.. the drunken driver was sentenced to life in prison.. in the state of georgia, thats only 7 years... he was sent in without the posibility of parole and was released in 1998. He has not attempted to make contact with us and we have found out that he's back to his old ways. (* according to a local police officer friend *) As for my sister.. well she just turned 18 on tuesday.(11/22/00) She wasn't supposed to live past 8. She is paralyzed from the neck down. all she can do is sit there in her room and watch t.v. , and talk forever w/ the mind of a 6 year old., she can move her head just a little bit and she can eat and drink with assistance. We have to pay 10,000 dollars a month just to keep her alive. This thanksgiving, she's 18 and its a happy time because she wasn't supposed to make it this far.Currently she is attending Hardaway High School in Columbus Georgia... she will stay there until 2010... if she lives so long because she cannot re-tain what she learns.

We were so happy.. we never thought anything so horrible could happen to our family.. no , not us! But it can happen to you too.. so i urge you, if you read this to join - S.A.D.D. (students against drunk drivers ) M.A.D.D. ( Mothers against drunk drivers ), D.A.D.D. ( Dads against drunk drivers ) or if you are an actor, radio artist, or athlete, R.A.D.D.... these organizations help the families of those who have had tradgedies like this happen to them.. it raises funds for families who cant afford medical bills and it works to raise awareness about the dangers of drinking and driving. Contact your local M.A.D.D. chapter or if you are in school, join S.A.D.D. and if there's not one, ask your guidance counselor about creating a chapter in your school, it can help you and the community. Thank you... Melinda G. Garner... sister of Melissa L. Garner .... and remember-- we never THINK that it could happen to us, but we are all in danger...so go out there and do something about it!