Every Parent's Nightmare

Bobbie was young and beautiful and full of promise. From all appearances, she was the last child who would bring her parents grief.

She was active in her church in O'Donnell, Texas.

At 14, she could claim a long list of social and scholastic achievements: Bobbie was involved in Cheerleading, Band, UIL (University Interscholastic League) Science Fair, One Act Play, and Girl Scouts.

The future seem to be promising and smooth sailing…if she could just navigate the pitfalls of her adolescent years.

But Bobbie had a secret. Perhaps it was the first time,…or the last of many times…but at fourteen she was getting and consuming alcohol from some adult.

Teen drinking is not only illegal, but for Bobbie it would be lethal and she would be responsible for the death of a fourteen-year-old friend, as well as seriously injuring seven others all under the age of 18.

In what can best be described as every parent's worst nightmare,… one boy of unknown age,.. one girl of 13,.. two girls age 14,.. one boy age 15,.. one girl 15,.. one boy 17,.. and one boy age 18 where joy riding in the 2008 Toyota pickup 14 year-old Bobbie was driving Saturday night at 2:30 in the morning. According to Department of Public Safety officials (Texas State Troopers), Bobbie had been drinking prior to driving at a high rate of speed on a road north of O'Donnell. The vehicle hit a ditch, went into a slide, then rolled three and a quarter times, coming to a rest on the passenger side door. Most of the teenagers were riding in the bed of the pickup, none wearing seatbelts or restrains.

As a Texas parent, it would be easy to finger point and blame;

Why were you allowing your 13, 14, 15 year-old age kids out at that time of night?

Why was an under-aged driver at the wheel of that vehicle?

Who gave those minors the alcohol?

Was there no parent who was curious enough to know what their children were doing that late at night?

At the same time, I am the parent of a 17 year old who will do ANYTHING to declare his independence. The "Truth" at our house is often a cat and mouse game between parent and child with God providing evidence and conviction when his mother and I can't be there.

Except for God's grace, my son could have been in the back of that pickup. Some of his friends have been involved in similar stupidity!

I never met Bobbie or any of her companions from that accident. I doubt her family will ever read these words. But as a life spectator and fellow parent, I share their anguish having lost a brother years ago in a roll-over accident before he could graduate high school.

I encourage parents...you are first a parent to your child,...secondly a friend. Don't let their begging wear you down. Want to know where they are going, who they are with, and to call when they change places and plans. That's why you provide them with that cell phone…..NOT FOR TEXT THEIR FRIENDS.

This incident strengthens my resolve to be involved. I will not be put off by the "invasion of my privacy" or "none of your business" argument. Love and parenting makes it my business.

Second, providing alcohol to minors is no joke,.. it is NOT a rite-of-passage we should wink at just because we may have done it. Alcohol and gasoline doesn't mix… especially when combined with raging hormones.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving are an excellent organization, but they haven't done enough. Several years ago, there was legal precedent set in England where pub owners and severs were libel for accidents and crimes their clients committed when intoxicated. If only that kind of legislation were passed in this country. But alas, how many local, state and federal legislators have the backbone for such a stance against the alcohol industry lobby. Most seem afraid their favorite bartenders and saloon owners would go to prison on their behest.

If the person who provided Bobbi with the alcohol was charged and convicted with involuntary manslaughter for this horrific tragedy, it might not bring back Bobby or the 14-year-old girl who died with her, but it would send a powerful message to those cavalier for sharing or selling alcohol to minors.

For the families of those eight youth involved accident north of O'Donnell, Texas, the "whys" and "what did we wrong" are too late.

Two families are mourning. Two crosses will be erected in the roadside ditch to remind others of this tragic accident.

Six young people will carry physical and mental scars of how a night of "just hangin' out" went wrong.