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Maybe she would
still be alive
by Tualia Williams
Texas
Publishers Association |
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Pam, a freshman at Lubbock, Texas'
Estacado High School, lies
peacefully still, eyes closed, hand
crossed over her chest, beautifully
arrayed in her Sunday best as
friends, loved ones and
acquaintances file by to say their
final goodbyes. But she will
not speak back. Her mother
cries out in grief for her child,
stolen from her so young in life,
but her cries will not bring her
back, nor will the mourners who fill
the church to capacity be able to
ease the mother's agony. No
parent should know such loss, no
human should know such pain.
No one should have to die this way.
Pam had slipped out with her
boyfriend hours after her mother
thought she was in bed asleep.
Thinking she would be home before
sunrise, she left the bedroom window
unlocked. But Pam never made
it back through that window.
At 4 a.m., her mother was awakened
with horrifying news. Her
daughter had been in a terrible
accident. The mother grappled
with the news. How could this
be true when she had just seen her
child go to bed only hours earlier.
But after going to the youth's room
to verify the facts, all she could
find was an empty bed. Pam was
gone- this time for good.
Witnesses say Pam's boyfriend was
drunk the morning he plowed into the
light pole. According to
sources, as Pam went flying through
the windshield, the light pole came
down across the hood of the car,
landing on her head.
Onlookers, who stood by helplessly,
said they heard blood curdling
screams as Pam lie pinned beneath
the pole.
Mourners could not help but question
how the boyfriend escaped with only
a broken nose, while Pam was dead.
It seemed so unfair, so senseless.
And it was. Had Pam been
wearing a seatbelt, she would very |
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likely have walked away unscathed. While Pam's death
was avoidable, not wearing a seatbelt was not a
crime in 1983.
Stories like Pam's prompted Texas lawmakers to enact
a law in 1985 requiring motorists to buckle up,
because something as simple as a seatbelt can save a
life.
Some might argue that Pam was simply at the wrong
place at the wrong time and that disobedience caused
her death. While that maybe true, it is also
true that all that stood between life and death for
Pam were 14 inches of fabric - a seatbelt.
According to the Department of Transportation, Texas
has the second highest number of fatalities,
following Colorado. Texas streets and highways
can be a dangerous place to drive. Yet, while
more than 90 percent of motorists believe seatbelts
can save lives, lest than 14 percent actually wear
them.
Excuses include,
"I'm safer being thrown from my car than trapped
inside by a faulty seatbelt." However, this
couldn't be further from the truth.
Individuals are actually 25 times more likely to be
seriously injured or killed when thrown from
their car than if they had been wearing a seatbelt.
Other's may still argue, "I'm a safe driver";" "I'm
not going that far;" or I'm not driving that fast."
But according to statistics, 75 percent of crash
deaths and injuries happen less than 25 miles from
home and more than half of all motor vehicle
accidents where someone was injured occurred at
speeds of 40 mph or less.
Despite numerous reports about the necessity of
wearing seatbelts, it still remains a problem in
Texas. But law makers and government officials
hope to reduce the pain loved ones fell at the
graveside by causing pain in violators pocket books.
The fine for not buckling up in Texas can be as much
as $200.The value of saving a life-priceless. Read the entire story
in The Power
Pages News. |
