Welcome to Georgia

There cannot be any sadder story than this one.

A family from Florida looked forward to their vacation all year. Maybe they were coming to see relatives here in Georgia. Maybe they were visiting some of our scenic areas around Blue Ridge. In any case, Mom, Dad and the five kids all packed their suitcases and their cooler full of sandwiches and headed across the state line for a few days of fun over the fourth of July weekend.

But Mom and Dad went back with only four children when their vacation suddenly ended.

And why? Because a 16-year-old boy decided that he was “man enough” to drink alcohol, and not only that, he was “man enough” to drive a brand new 2011 Dodge Ram pickup after drinking as well. At 11:30 pm the boy (not man) was speeding and he slammed into the back of a van that was stopped at a traffic light on State Routh 515 near Josh Hall Road. The collision pushed the van into another vehicle as well, but the driver there was not seriously hurt.

But in the van, the mother, the father, and four kids between the ages of 3 and 10 were all injured and taken to Fannin Regional Medical Center. Worst of all, their 6 year old girl was killed.

How do you tell a three year old that her big sister is gone forever? For that matter, how do you tell the rest of the kids? What do the mother and father do with that hole in the family now and for the rest of their lives?

So far the police arrested the 17-year-old passenger in the pickup truck for Possession of Alcohol and Open Container. They are going to complete their investigation before they press charges against that 16-year-old.

But no matter what his punishment is, he will always have the knowledge that his drinking led to the death of a small child and the shattering of a family. One can only hope that he receives counseling so that he doesn’t turn even further to drink to drown out his sorrows.