Volunteers Wanted!

I'm getting a jump start on the planning process for the 2nd annual
CAID Softball Tournament. Last year we made $3,000 for CAID (Crusade
Against Impaired Driving, an organization I started in memory of my
sister Karen Kwiatkowski), and this year I think we can double if not
triple that amount.

What I need is your help to make it a success, last year I did a lot
of the work myself, and this year I'm hoping to form committees to get
everything done in a timely fashion.

Our first meeting will be held Wednesday, February 25 at my home in
Lake View . I can email out directions for all who need them.
Please bring all suggestions as we begin to plan CAID's only fundraiser.

If you can't make it but would still like to help, please let me know.

Thank you,


Deanna Russo

Barkley Charged with DUI

Yet another celebrity - this time a famous "hoop star" has been charged with drinking and driving.

Former NBA player Charles Barkley has been charged with DUI in Arizona. Here's a link to the story.


I'm disappointed that yet another athlete has made such a bad choice. If the charges prove to be true, I think Barkley should publicly apologize for the decision.

Until next time...

Deanna

Orphans and Hit & Run

She was 23 years old - a young mother who was merely crossing Main Street in Buffalo with her son. Within seconds she was killed. Amanda Knowlton and her son Isiah were innocent victims of a drunk driver, just like my sister. They were struck by a 21 year old - Christopher Tulumello of Amherst. Here's a link to the Buffalo News article. Police and witnesses say he didn't have the guts to stick around - he fled the scene, and was arrested hours later. He sped through a red light, struck Knowlton and her son, and kept going.

The anger I'm feeling right now is hard to put into words. Isiah Knowlton and his baby brother Sammy are orphans. Amanda's life was snuffed out way too early - just like Karen's. A drunk driver who made a bad choice and now a young woman is dead.

It's hard to feel remorse for Christopher and his family, even after reading what his mother says about him. If he was an adult with a conscience, he would not have fled the scene. He's facing several charges including DWI, vehicular manslaughter, vehicular assault, and leaving the scene of an accident. I understand the judge set bail at $500,000. Is that the price of a young woman's life?

My thoughts and prayers go out to Amanda's family and friends...and those two young boys.

As for Christopher - I hope you learn your lesson and that justice will be served.


Deanna

P.S. I continue my road to recovery after lung surgery. The key is to rest and not to overdo it. That's my prescription.

Update from Deanna

I was recently diagnosed with lung cancer and am at home recovering from surgery. I'll be back to work on CAID's mission as soon as I am physically able.

To stay up to date with my progress, be sure to check out the YourHub blog.

Thanks,

Deanna

Lawyer Pleads Guilty in Hit & Run Accident: My Take

Guilty. He's admitted to hitting a Hilbert College student and fleeing the scene, and just a couple days ago John Duffy stood before a judge in State Supreme Court. Duffy pleaded guilty to a felony charge of leaving the scene of a fatal accident in connection with the death of Meghan Sobrera.

Sobrera was killed just a few weeks ago on South Park Avenue in Hamburg. She was on her way back from working at the Hamburg Fairgrounds, and was walking to Hilbert with friends when she was fatally struck by Duffy's SUV.

Police believe Duffy was drinking at the time of the crash, but they can't prove it because Duffy fled the scene and didn't turn himself in until 5 days later.

Duffy should be ashamed of himself. By fleeing the scene, he failed to take responsibility for his actions. The sentence that he now faces is 2 1/2 to 7 years for fleeing the scene of the crash. He's going to be disbarred.

He's an attorney who is using the law to his benefit. Even though Duffy's attorney continues to defend his client saying he thought he hit a garbage can, I say Duffy's not stupid, he knew that if he struck someone and fled the scene he'd face a lesser charge than if he stopped and took responsiblity for his actions.

Duffy's sending a message to others, "Hey, if you're drinking and driving and get into a crash, you can run, and you will get away on a lesser charge".

Shame on him and shame on anyone who is involved in a drinking and driving crash who doesn't take responsibility for his or her actions.


Deanna

CAID Prepares To Take Message to Area Colleges

Next week, Crusade Against Impaired Driving, Inc. will be taking our message to area college campuses.

It's National Collegiate Alcohol Awareness Week, and CAID (Deanna) has been invited to speak to students at Hilbert, Buffalo State, and Trocaire College. We will share Karen's story with students and drive home the message that drinking and driving is preventable and is a choice.

If you want to read more about what's going on in Deanna's life right now, click here.

Deanna

1...2...3...6 Strikes. How many is it going to take?

Not 1 or 2...but 6...that's how many "second chances" an Amherst woman has received. Now she's headed to prison for the next 1-3 years. The judge in the case called her "a DWI fatality waiting to happen" Here's a link to The Buffalo News article. After reading it, I agree with the judge.

Before I go on with this blog, why did I say six "second chances"? Because every time someone drives drunk, they are taking lives in their hands. I look at the DWI arrest as a "second chance" because no one was hurt or killed. Sure it costs money - fines, court fees, insurance goes up, etc. but no one was seriously hurt or maimed in the crash.

Deborah Mitchum, a 44 year old restaurant manager, received the sentence earlier this week after she was charged with her sixth DWI in nine years. She was also fined more than $1,800. It boggles my mind how someone can be so irresponsible. She really is a threat to everyone on the roads, because she hasn't learned her lesson...and keeps doing it over and over again.

Mitchum's attorney wanted her to go to counseling and spend weekends in jail. I'm glad the judge didn't give her that "slap on the wrist". In court, she claimed "she's too old for this now", yes Deborah, you are.

And you've been given a second chance that you can think about in jail.