Editor’s note: Wausau Pilot & Review gladly publishes commentary from readers, residents and candidates for local offices. The views of readers and columnists are independent of this newspaper and do not necessarily reflect the views of Wausau Pilot & Review. To submit, email [email protected] or mail to 500 N. Third St., Suite 208-8, Wausau, Wis. 54403.
Dear Editor,
Anyone who has lived in Wisconsin for even a short length of time has likely been touched by the effects of drunken driving. Our state has a reputation for drinking and, even worse, a reputation for drinking and driving.
Perhaps the most devastating of drinking and driving instances, someone traveling the wrong way on a highway, impacted our family one year ago in the early morning hours of April 8, 2023. Our son Greg had just turned 19 the week prior and was home on spring break. In a true case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, Greg traveled around the slight bend in Highway 51 headed north near the Stewart Avenue exit in Wausau. He intended to leave the highway at the Bridge Street exit and that’s where the convicted drunk driver entered the highway.
The head on collision left Greg with two severely broken legs and an upper left arm in pieces. We are blessed that despite the severity of his injuries, he didn’t suffer head, neck, back or internal trauma. A simple matter of inches, seconds or miles per hour and this letter would have a much different ending.
If you have kept an eye on the news over the last several years, there have been a great number of injuries and deaths caused by drivers traveling the wrong way on our state’s highways. Most of these involve a driver who is under the influence.
As parents, we were diligent about reminding our kids to stay off the highways and use city streets when possible after 10 p.m. Although this was advice ignored by our son in this instance, I encourage parents to continue to share this with their kids.
There is something that all adults can do that is very simple to attempt to stem this tide of incidents. It’s a concept that was developed during my time at the Wausau Daily Herald in 2009. The idea was simple. Those in the community were invited to sign an online pledge not to drive after even one drink. This list of pledges was posted publicly on the Daily Herald’s site so that community members could hold each other accountable, perhaps the only effective way of preventing drunk driving. Yes, I acknowledge that there is nothing illegal about driving after one drink for most individuals, but we must also acknowledge that our decisions to drive drunk most often originate well before the drinking begins.
I’ve included a photo of Greg, broken in his hospital bed just days after the crash. I’ve also included a photo of what was left of the car he was driving. I invite you to download these photos and save them to your phone. Give them a glance before you have that first drink with your keys still in your pocket. I regret not recording his screams of pain as his sheets were changed or as he was rolled on shattered limbs to simply relieve himself. There was a power to those cries of pain that, perhaps, if listened to before your next drink would convince you to leave the driving to somebody else.
I acknowledge, as many of you reading can relate to, that there were times in my life I shouldn’t have driven after some time at a bar or a party. That Daily Herald pledge had power, however, in that it was a public acknowledgement that sometimes we are our own worst enemies. The pledge is gone from the Daily Herald’s site, but I encourage you to share this post or comment below to re-dedicate yourself publicly to not drink and drive. There is so very little shame or stigma associated with drinking and driving that, perhaps, this small gesture can serve as a subtle reminder to you and to those around you that this activity is unacceptable.
Greg spent a month in the hospital and then months in physical therapy, receiving stellar care from doctors, nurses and therapists at Aspirus. Exactly five months after the accident, Greg miraculously returned to his duties at his fire station in the Washington, DC metro area. We are blessed that he has been able to physically return to the career he loves so much.
Greg bears many large scars from the various surgeries he endured and sometimes feels the bits of hardware that in the early days of his recovery held him together. These will be ever-present reminders to him and to those around him of the devastating effects of drunken driving.
Greg and our entire family would like to thank all of our family and friends for their support over the months following the crash. We’d also like to thank the first responders from the Wausau Fire Department and Wausau Police Department who assisted in the moments following the crash. Finally, the firefighting community both here in our area, particularly the Village of Maine Volunteer Fire Department, and those at stations around the Prince George’s County area in Maryland, are deserving of special recognition for their unbelievable support of Greg during his recovery.
Brian Otten, Wausau
