Fifty Plus (50+) - Death of Kids' Friends and Friends' Kids

Last night in our area, a guy in a Hummer hit two cyclists (broken bones) and rear ended a truck before he hit and killed a 20 year old, narrowly missing another cyclist, and drove off.

My sons went through school from 1st grade on with the young man who was killed and were good friends with him and his younger brother. We became friends with his parents and have done a lot of things with them over the years. This young man was a truly awesome person and will be missed by many.

Just last month, a 19 year old at our church died of a seizure. He and my sons were friends and we are very close to his parents. He, too, was a great young man. Over 600 turned out for his memorial service.

Two young men who are close in age to our sons are gone. Neither family knew what was coming and are now trying to figure out what the future looks like without their sons.

http://www.fox5sandiego.com/news/ktla-ventura-hit-run-bicyclist-killed,0,3119754.story

I just read two posts about this incident in the Advocacy & Safety subforum. The link, above, is to a news story about the incident. The police booked the driver of the Hummer on a slew of charges, among them drunk driving.

It sounds like the young man who was killed, Nick, was an outstanding young man. My thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends.

I'm sorry for your loss. I really hope they have enough charges against the driver to put him away for a long time.

Its a sad and hard way to gain maturity in life. Needless death from a careless driver whose only thought was to escape his consequences. The event teaches, but the pain is horrible. I know you are hurting for your kids, prayers your way.

So sorry for your grief and his family's loss. These kind of stories hit all of us in the gut.

I have obviously just lost yet another "good friend I never met." I hope this country finds the political will to stiffen the penalties for drunk driving. Under pressure from MADD we have made good progress, but we have so far to go.

Well, it IS in California. And the offending driver IS apparently a minority. My guess is, he will get 10 to 15 years with all but 1 suspended. And the one year will be served in 6 months with time off for good behavior. No community service or restitution. California's like that.

I'm so sorry for your losses. I felt sick while watching the story on the news last night -- then, today, reading he was on his way to take a college final exam. My heart goes out to all of you.

I read the other threads.... that's pretty terrible. It can shake up not only the family but the whole community.

Well, it IS in California. And the offending driver IS apparently a minority. My guess is, he will get 10 to 15 years with all but 1 suspended. And the one year will be served in 6 months with time off for good behavior. No community service or restitution. California's like that.
No, NorCal is like that. In SoCal they throw the book at drunk killers. In fact, when someone gets their first DUI, the DA makes them sign a document wherein the drunk acknowledges that he is aware of the fact that drinking and driving can be deadly and that he will be charged with second degree murder if he drives drunk and someone dies as a result. I wish the rest of the state and country would catch up with those prosecutors. By the way, I am a native of NorCal who generally won't acknowledge that anything could be better in the south end, but I've got to give them credit where it is due.

Back on topic. I'm really sorry for the loss to the OP and to the friends and families of the young men who died. My twenty-year-old son has been dealing with a steady stream of deaths among his friends these past five years. Fortunately, several of them have been older gentlemen he met through playing chess who had lived full and wonderful lives. However, the last two were his age and died in preventable accidents (falling asleep while driving and falling out a window). It always hurts to lose a friend.

Senseless. So sorry for your, the family's, and the community's loss.

CAC, My condolences to the young men's family and friends. I've been in your position more than once, there's no words I can muster to define the difficulty of the sudden lose of a young man or woman through no fault of their own.

Brad