Drinking and driving is something that can easily harm or take the life of another individual in the blink of an eye, and while no person means to be the cause of this, one small choice can have a life changing effect on you and everyone involved. This was the case for a now 21 year old girl, who had only spent one year at Florida International University before the accident that changed her life last January. Working at a local beach nightclub as a bartender, she admitted to the court that she had way too much to drink and was well aware that she was heavily under the influence when she got into her car that night, or rather, early morning.

As she was speeding down the road, she hit a chef as he was crossing the street to start his early morning shift, and then she proceeded to drive away from the accident. One car even attempted to have her pullover to help, but she was unresponsive to their efforts. According to the witness from the tragic accident, the impact of her car was enough to send the 49 year old victims body flying into the air only to land on the ground of a nearby hotel. This witness testified in the February bail hearing that the scene was horrifying and that the streets were covered in the victim's blood. He claimed that he followed the driver to get her to pull over, but she kept driving to avoid him. The Good Samaritan followed her up to the valet of her condo and confronted her, only to find that her hair was covered in blood and flesh as it came through the passenger window that hit the victim.

The police arrived at the condo shortly after to arrest her. They asked her to do a Breathalyzer test and she refused. Once they conducted a blood test at the police station, they learned that her blood alcohol content levels were nearly three times higher than the legal limit at .225 percent. When before the court for her actions, there was a very strong possibility that her actions would land her in prison for over 50 years. However, the wife of the vicitim was the one who influenced the court to reconsider that punishment. She demonstrated the utmost forgiveness, love and strength during the trial and told the court that her husband would have never sought revenge, nor would she. She said that she and her husband would want this young woman instead to use her story to educate others about the dangers of drunk driving, in order to prevent tragic accidents in the future.

The wife claims that her husband was a firm believer in giving people second chances, and she saw this as an opportunity to use her tragedy for good rather than having her waste her life and story in prison. The wife asked the young woman if she would be willing to dedicate the rest of her life to educating people and improving the lives of others as a payment for her crime. The court ruled after the woman confessed to being guilty that she would only spend four years in a youthful offender prison, followed by two years of house arrest and 15 years of probation time.

With the help of the forgiving and strong wife, this girl will now be required as part of her community serve to speak at least 5 times a year on her accident to help save lives in the future.