The following is a speech written by Chelsea Smith
Amanda's little sister by love
Have you ever been mad or sad? I mean really, really mad! My mother and many others like her are MADD, and there are many students like me who are really SADD.
Let me ask you some more questions.
Would you let a friend jump in front of a speeding train?
Would you let your friend climb into a cage of hungry pit bulls?
Then, why do friends let friends drink and drive? It's the same thing. All of those are deadly. You see the Madd and Sadd that I speak about are not just emotions, although they are extremely emotional. Madd, spelled MADD, stands for Mothers Against Drunk Driving and Sadd, spelled SADD, stands for Students Against Drunk Driving.
When researching this topic, I was shocked to find out that in Canada, EVERY SINGLE DAY there are 4 - 5 people killed and another 125 people injured due to impaired driving. That equals about half of our school's population each day that is wiped out or hurt because of someone driving drunk. That's WAY TOO MANY!! I also found out that 100% of these crashes are preventable. They just didn't have to happen at all.
Another sad fact that people don't always think about is that it's not always the drunk driver that gets killed. In fact, in most cases it's innocent victims that are killed. Sometimes it's passengers in the drunk driver's car. Sometimes it's people in another car that get killed and they didn't have anything to do with drinking and driving, but their lives and the lives of those who love them are directly affected by it. Innocent children are killed because their Mom or Dad had one too many and drove them home. Teenagers are killed because someone let a friend drink and drive. People of all ages are killed because someone in another vehicle made a bad choice to drink and drive and slammed into them.
Impaired driving is the single leading criminal cause of death in Canada. Do you really want to go to jail for murder because you wanted to drive after you'd been drinking?
As a young person, sometimes we think there is nothing we can do to stop these kinds of things from happening, but there is. We can tell people to take a cab. We can remind our parents and friends that we'd rather arrive alive than get in the car with them if they've been drinking. When we're older, we can take the keys away from our friends and have them sleep over if they=ve been drinking. Parents would rather get up and get dressed in the middle of the night to pick their kids up from a party, then they would get dressed in their good clothes to go to their kid's funeral. Think about it. Aren't people's lives worth more than the price of a cab?
If you go on the Internet to www.madd.ca you will find all kinds of information about MADD Canada. You will also see many of the innocent victims who have died because someone else made a bad choice. You can read their stories. You can see the faces of many children who will no longer run and play. You can see the faces of teenagers who will never finish school. You will see the faces of Moms and Dads who leave families behind to mourn their deaths. You will see the faces of Grandmas and Grandpas who won’t be baking cookies for their grandchildren because someone else made a bad choice.
You see, it's all about choices and standing up for what's right. You and I can make the choice today to NEVER drink or at least to never drink and drive. We can stand up for what's right and show people every day by tying one on ......... a ribbon I mean. You can tie one of these MADD ribbons on to your backpack so that people are reminded daily when they see it, that YOU want to stay alive and you don't want them to make a bad choice. You can ask your parents to tie one on to their car antenna. Never get into a vehicle with someone who has been drinking or using drugs.
Mothers Against Drunk Driving and Students Against Drug Driving are working every day to stop these senseless deaths. As long as there are impaired drivers on our roads, no one is safe. Maybe through doing this speech and standing up for what's right, I can help someone to remember to make a good choice. If I can save one life, that will be something I will have accomplished and can be proud of.
My name is Chelsea Smith and I am SADD. Will you take a stand for all the innocent victims and tie one on with me?
Imagine, that you had to phone a family and tell them that their only daughter has been in an accident and is in a coma? That was the duty of University Chaplain, Ron Kopicko. On the Thursday night, September 20th, 2001, 20 year old Amanda Hale was driving to her university dorm on the campus of Spring Arbor University, after a night of baby-sitting. She was obeying all the rules of the road and was only about two minutes away from home when her life was snatched from her by a drunk driver named Todd Sondey.
Amanda was a person that I will never ever forget. She was caring, compassionate, thoughtful, and an encouragement to everyone she met. She was a Cabin Leader in Children and Teen camp at Maple Grove Christian Retreat Center, a Sunday School teacher at her home church, a trumpet player in many different bands, a Music Education major at Spring Arbor University, a friend to all she met, and a loving daughter of two very broken parents. Dealing with her death is extremely difficult for me but I can’t imagine how unbearable it is for my pastors, and her parents, Irving and Glenda Hale. She was their one and only daughter. However, through their travels from their homeland of Newfoundland, where they were teachers , to Toronto where they were students and pastors, to Wallaceburg, where they are pastors, they have leaned on the Lord for their strength and wisdom.
Amanda was family to me. Since she was an only child, sometimes she missed having little sisters she could take care of so she “adopted” my sister and I.. She once took care of us for a whole week while my parents were in Arizona. It was one of the best weeks of my life. During that week she won some money, and instead of spending it all shopping, she took us out for supper. Later that night we went out and we both bought matching Nail Polish. Even to this day I still have it. I loved her more than you could ever imagine. I also remember that Amanda was the biggest chocolate lover you I will ever know. She loved coming to our house and eating freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. I looked up to her and she was always a great role model.
The man who killed Amanda was charged and convicted with operating under the influence of liquor, unlawful blood alcohol content, reckless driving causing death, and second degree murder. The judge who presided over Amanda’s case was Circuit Judge Edward Grant. The actual trial is over and his sentence will be given on May 16th. Mr. Sondey was found guilty on all four charges. It is great news to know that someone who had been charged with drinking and driving three times prior, is off the roads. It makes the roads a little safer place for all of us.
Her Death effected more than just the people she new personally. After hearing about Amanda’s death and her story, many non-christians gave there heart to the Lord. She reached more people through her life than I think she would have ever dreamed of. I know that if she was given the option of dying so someone would know the Lord, or just living, she would give up her own life so someone else could have eternal life. That’s just the kind of person she was. She was truly beautiful from the inside out.
Faces, faces in a blur,
But one sticks out and it’s her.
Taking away that beautiful face,
Leaving only memories in her place.
Why did that driver drink and drive,
To see her face is all I strive.
Why was she the one to go,
‘Cause I’ll miss her a lot, I love her so.
I know she’s in Heaven, way up in the sky,
But bleeding hearts still weep and cry.
Musically talented and my big sis.
Why oh why did God do this?
Life goes on and this I know,
Although I'm feeling sad and low.
I know in my heart she’s not really gone,
And when tomorrow comes the day will dawn.
With Love & SMILES
Your Little Sister Jessica
