Back to School But Not For Jennifer

Jennifer

Today is back to school day in my town. As I anxiously worry about my daughter's first day of high school, my heart aches for my friend Lisa. Today was to be her daughter's 1st day of senior year. Unfortunately, due to the irresponsible actions of a teen driver, Jennifer is not here to experience senior year. She was killed in a car accident.

Reckless teen driving is responsible for many deaths and serious injuries and it is not always alcohol or drug-related. There were no drugs or alcohol involved in this accident. Just the arrogance and irresponsibility of a spoiled, immature young man.

No criminal charges were filed against this driver who also has acted completely remorseless over causing the death of a 16 year old girl.

The message that I want to share with parents today is one of gratefulness and parental responsibility. Although your kids can challenge you at times, be thankful that you have them to challenge you. Also remember that children (no matter their age) need to be responsible for their actions. It is up to you to teach them. Every parent of a teen who is approaching driving age feels a certain amount of anxiety over letting them go and be responsible behind the wheel. Teach your children the dangers of reckless driving. Driving is a priviledge not a right. A vehicle can be a weapon if used the wrong way. Teach them how precious life is. There are no guarantees- true accidents happen but if you behave in a reckless manner- you are increasing the chances of something bad happening.

 No one should have to bury their child. Jennifer was a beautiful girl who had a life that was full of promise. She was talented and loved life. As a young girl, she survived heart surgery and had so much to look forward to. She was robbed of the opportunity to do what our children are doing. Her mom, who is perhaps the strongest woman I have ever known, has fought for justice for her daughter and has honored her daughter's memory by creating a scholarship fund in her name.

Say a prayer for Lisa today. If you don't pray, send positive thoughts her way. Be ever so thankful for what you have. Lisa's life changed in an instant because of an irresponsible young man. Let's lower the odds of another tragedy by teaching our children how to be responsible drivers.

Gone way too soon.

The Fight for Justice

In the state of New Jersey, and many other states around this country, if you drive under the influence of drugs or alcohol and you cause a fatality, you almost automatically get indicted on criminal charges. Okay, we all know alcohol and drug use impairs your abilities. That is a no-brainer. But- if you are sober, you speed or otherwise drive recklessly and cause a fatality, you often do not get charged with a crime.

Driving a car is a priviledge, not a right. Along with the priviledge comes responsibility. Responsibility to follow the laws set forth in order to create a sense of order on the roads. Speed limits are determined by certain factors including amount of traffic, design of the road and other factors. They are supposed to be followed. If you speed you can expect that you may get a ticket depending on whether or not you get caught.

When you speed, you run the risk of losing control of your vehicle. Especially if you are a young driver, you do not have the experience to deal with the possibility of someone cutting you off or losing control because you hit a pothole or whatever. Many young male drivers speed and even race other drivers as a way of showing off. When this kind of behavior results in the death of one of their passengers or another motorist, there needs to be a punishment involved. Life is precious and too many young drivers do not realize the power of a motor vehicle. Wearing a seatbelt or not wearing a seatbelt, when you drive at speeds above the limit death or serious injury may occur.

When a driver does commit this kind of crime (yes it is a crime to take a life by auto) and does not get punishment aside from a short suspension of their driving priviledges, what kind of message does it send to other young drivers? We would hope that parents would raise their children to have a moral conscience but unfortunately, there are no laws that say they must. There are immoral people amongst us who have no regard for others. That is no surprise to many of us. When even the law does not step in to teach these drivers by indicting them on criminal charges it further threatens the safety of anyone who drives or rides on our nations roads.

If you feel like I do, that we need to put an end to sober drivers walking away from fatal accidents that they caused, I invite you to visit the Justice for Jennifer page. Read the story of her family's tragedy and the lack of punishment and remorse of the young driver who caused it all to happen. Write a letter, it doesn't take long, maybe you will be part of making a difference.
Justice for Jennifer

The consequences of reckless teen driving

remembering jennifer

Last night I attending a celebration of the life of Jennifer Metzger. It was difficult to be amongst those gathered in my family's church cemetary releasing balloons in honor of a teenage girl who tragically was killed one year ago.

I attended with my youngest daughter who is 14. She remembers the night of the accident because she was coming home with her father and saw the aftermath of this horrible tragedy.

Standing in the cemetary listening to Jennifer's father and uncle speak about Jennifer sent a very powerful message to my young daughter. She saw first-hand the pain Jennifer's mom is living with. She saw the tears of Jennifer's friends. It became real to her that this was a life lost and how much Jennifer mattered to people.

I did not know Jennifer Metzger first-hand. I had heard about her over the years from my mother who has always remained in touch with my dad's side of the family. I have to admit at times I was in awe of how well-rounded this teenage girl seemed to be. As a mom of 4 girls myself, I know how difficult it is to raise teenagers.

I got involved in the crusade to protest how the driver responsible for Jennifer's death was not charged with any criminal wrong-doing although he was speeding and driving recklessly. I did this because I am a mom and although I can never imagine the pain her parents and loved ones are dealing with, I am disgusted by the injustice of it all. It scares me that the laws do not protect victims. What disgusts me the most is how some parents do not teach their children respect for human life. They do not teach them that there are consequences to their actions. It is a tragedy that people who raised their child to be good and decent like Jennifer's parents lost their child due to another child's obvious lack of morals because of bad parenting.


Jennifer's family is establishing a scholarship in her name and is having a fundraiser. This is a positive, healing step to honor a life that was taken too soon.

During Jennifer's brief life here, she did manage to touch a lot of people. The lives she touched will keep her memory alive.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2288881/the_consequences_of_reckless_teen_driving.html?cat=8