Sara, 21 and Kelly, 26 must have been having the time of their lives riding around in Beau James Robertson’s 2002 Chevrolet Camaro! In fact, as it turns out, Sara, Beau’s girlfriend, was in town to celebrate Beau’s 29th birthday. But, the celebration came to an abrupt end when Beau drove his Camaro off an overpass and onto U.S. Highway 101 where it was struck by an oncoming vehicle killing both Sara and Kelly, according to a news article posted on NBC’s Web site.
According to witnesses, Beau was speeding and attempted to make a right turn onto San Ysidro Road in Montecito, an area adjacent to Santa Barbara, the article states. Beau lost control of the car and crossed into the opposite lane, jumping the curb and blasting through the overpass’s metal guardrail.
The car dropped roughly 40 feet and landed on the passenger side atop the southbound side of Highway 101, with its roof facing oncoming traffic. According to NBC’s report, almost immediately, a family of five in a 1996 Silver Honda Sedan crashed into the Camaro at normal freeway speeds, sending it somersaulting. Sara and Kelly, neither of whom wore seat belts, were ejected from the car and pronounced dead at the scene.
Sara planned to apply to the University of California, Berkeley to study psychology and Kelly was the mother of a 9 year-old boy who will have to grow up without his mom. According to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), over 30,000 passengers died in alcohol-related accidents.
Beau has since been arrested on suspicion of two counts of felony – drunken driving and gross vehicular manslaughter. As for Sara and Kelly – their poor choice in allowing this man to drive them cost them their lives. And the sad fact is auto accidents like this happens on our roadways across the country every, single day. People let their drunken friends take the wheel and pay the ultimate price for it.
Don’t drive drunk and if you know your driver is drunk, don’t let him or her drive either. You may not realize it when you make such seemingly small decisions, but what you decide makes the difference between life and death.
By: Carol J. Gibbons, J.D.