On Nov. 18, 2007, I did something that would not only change my life forever, but those lives around me, family, friends, neighbors, law enforcement and complete strangers. If I had only made one phone call I could have saved many from going through a living hell. One choice I made became a horrifying and haunting nightmare that I could not wake up from. That unforgettable night changed my life eternally.

 

Consequently on that November night, I chose to get behind the wheel of my SUV while severely intoxicated. So intoxicated in fact, that I had a two hour blackout until I woke up after hitting another vehicle head-on while driving the wrong way on the freeway.

It was estimated that I was going at a speed of 80 miles per hour. The man who I hit suffered punctured lungs, a lacerated liver, torn aorta, crushed right hand, both femurs were broken, and his face was fractured. As for me, it was a broken back, head lacerations and some cuts and bruises.

At the hospital I was charged with DUI causing bodily injury. When I was released from the hospital, I was taken straight to booking and then to a women's detention facility.

 

Like every other inmate there, I had nothing but time to reflect on my mistake and what had got me to this horrible place I was at in the first place. Every night going to bed, afraid, lonely, cold and wondering if the man that I had hit had survived the trauma I had caused, and when I would be able to hold my child again, praying that when I woke up I'd be in the safety of my own home and this freakish nightmare would be over with.

 

I have been given a second chance with life for which I should have died. From the grace of God, I'm here to present my story to help others live their lives in a more positive and meaningful way, instead of allowing poor choices to destroy their life and those around them, as it did in my case. I am proof that it can happen to anyone.

 

Since that dreadful night I have remained sober and have become a member of a group called Team DUI. It is a coalition of law enforcement, county and city officials, social service providers, educators and many others who have personal experiences with DUI-related incidents. I have been an active member for almost two years.

In striving to get my message out, I hope to prevent our youth and adults from repeating my own mistakes and poor choice to drink and drive. I have continually impacted my audiences in all of my presentations. I try my best to customize each of my presentations to fit the need of the topic in order to impact my audience so they will know the consequences of drinking and driving and how it not only affects them personally, but everyone around them.

In my presentations, I talk about in detail my crash, the time I spent in jail, and how the man who I hit has forgiven me and we are now working together as a team to bring the message to others.

I use graphic photos from my crash, poems and facts that lead up to the main topic of my personal story in which I tell in a third person, as if I were talking about someone else. The audience is then informed that the story that was just told to them was in fact, a reality of the woman standing before them.

 

I am on a mission. It is my destiny and purpose in this new life of mine to share my story and help save as many lives as I can by helping my audience make the right choices in life's chaotic journey.

 

Wendy Jensen is a local resident who is a member of Team DUI. She writes this to remind community members that April is Alcohol Awareness Month.