Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, March 27, 1993 TAG: 9303290004
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: PAUL DELLINGER SOUTHWEST BUREAU
DATELINE: GALAX LENGTH: Long
But by pushing for a tougher drunken-driving law in Virginia, Michael and Stephannie Dees of Galax hope they can save others.
On Dec. 21, 1992, 11-year-old Warren Kelly "W.K." Dees was in a car that collided with one driven by Gerald W. Edwards, 22, of Route 5, Galax.
W.K. was killed.
Edwards has been indicted by a Grayson County grand jury on charges of involuntary manslaughter, involuntary vehicular manslaughter and driving under the influence. A jury trial is scheduled for May 27.
Ten days before the fatal accident, Edwards had been charged with reckless driving and driving under the influence in Carroll County.
In 29 states and the District of Columbia, a driver can lose his license automatically when charged with DUI.
Virginia isn't one of them. If it had such a law - depending on the length of the suspension - Edwards might not have been driving Dec. 21.
W.K. might still be alive.
Virginia almost did have such a law. Last year, both the state Senate and House of Delegates passed measures that would have allowed authorities to temporarily pull the licenses of those charged with DUI. They ended up being scuttled before their differing provisions could be reconciled in a single bill.
This year, differing bills again W.K. Dees came from the House and Senate. Michael, 41, and Stephannie, 39, learned about the bills through the Galax chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving and wanted to do something to help the law pass this time.
"Our involvement in it really wasn't something we planned," Stephannie said. "We found out this was the only chance this year."
They did not know when the bills would come before the Courts of Justice committees of the two houses until Feb. 5. Pattie Conner, a co-worker of Michael's at the Galax Parks and Recreation Department, told him, "Mike, you're not going to believe this, but you need to go to Richmond today."
Conner learned the House committee was to consider its version of the administrative license revocation bill at 7 that evening. Michael called Stephannie, who got permission to leave her job at Twin County Pediatric Associates, and they were on the road by noon.
They got lost outside of Richmond. But they managed to get there, change clothes and reach the chamber where the committee was meeting at 6:55 p.m.
Then Michael found he would not be speaking until 9:30 the next morning.
The next day, the time for talking about the bill was moved to 4 p.m. In the end, Michael finally got to address the committee about 10 that night.
The Senate Courts of Justice Committee was to consider the bill at 1:30 p.m. the next day. Again, things changed and Michael said his piece at 7:30 p.m.
"For Steph and me, it was a real learning experience," he said. "It was an absolute circus when we got there. There was so much chaos and confusion."
He began to understand the process, he said, when he realized the legislators must consider about 2,000 bills in 45 days.
After all the confusion, Michael spoke for only a few minutes to each committee. He told the lawmakers about his family's personal loss and how the proposed law might have kept it from happening.
"It was very quiet when Michael was speaking. It was the only time when it was quiet," Stephannie said. "They listened to what he had to say, that was for sure."
Nobody talked or moved, she said. From the questions that were asked, she was convinced that some minds were changed.
"We felt what we had to say was important," Michael said. "I was compelled to be there. There was this little voice in the back of my head saying I had to be there. So we went."
"We really didn't anticipate getting quite so active quite so soon, with all we were going through personally," Stephannie said. "So we felt that we couldn't wait on this particular thing."
"In my six years," said Del. Tommy Jackson, D-Hillsville, a patron of the House bill, "I have never seen a committee affected to the degree that the committee was after Mike spoke. I've never seen that many committee members cry. It was very moving, and there was no question that his testimony made a difference in the way that bill progressed through the House."
Jackson said two or three of the House committee members were so overcome that they left the room momentarily.
"Statistically, the administrative license revocation statute is one of the most effective tools that any state has used across the country in reducing drunk-driving offenss said Jackson, who has supported it for several years.
In 1991, 429 Virginians died in alcohol-related traffic accidents - more than 45 percent of all fatalities for that year. Another 535 died in 1992. In states where license-pulling measures have passed, accidents have decreased by an average of 42 percent.
When the Deeses lost their son, they got 300 to 400 letters from people, many starting out with a variation of "You don't know me, but . . ." Those letters, they say, helped them cope.
"We've had so much understanding and love from not only the people we work with but the people in the community," Michael said. "I don't know how we'd have gotten through it without them."
When they got back to Galax on Feb. 8, they found people at the recreation center busy campaigning for the bills. In the end, nearly 700 people wrote letters in support of the law. More than 1,300 people signed petitions at the recreation center.
"You can see why we said we were a little overwhelmed," Michael said.
The compromise bill passed on the last day of the 1993 legislative session. It has gone to Gov. Douglas Wilder, who is likely to sign it soon. "I want to show this state is serious about drunk driving," Wilder said.
Keywords:
FATALITY
by CNB