Cops, victims and lawmakers team up
Aug. 31, 2003, is a day that Springfield’s Denny Pryor will never forget. A day that rocked his family to its core, causing an intense pain that has yet to cease. On that day, Pryor’s 18-year-old son became a statistic.
The evening was like many others, with Pryor watching Timothy kiss his six-month-old daughter goodbye before heading out for a night of “fun.” Timothy and his friends purchased some alcohol for a party they were having at a friend’s house. Later that night, the boys drove to a home in Loami, where the “party” continued into the wee hours.
Around 5 a.m. the boys piled into a car driven by Timothy’s best friend Steven (Timothy sat in the back seat), and headed back to Springfield. Less than a mile from the Loami home, Steven lost control of the car and hit a tree. There was so much force at impact that Timothy’s seat was lifted off the floorboard, slamming his body into the back of the front seat. All of his major body organs compressed, his lungs collapsed and his aorta was severed. His buddies suffered neck, shoulder and jaw injuries.
In an instant, Timothy became one of thousands who die each year in alcohol-related accidents nationwide. “The pain was excruciating. It shattered my family’s life. I can’t describe the hurt in having to arrange your child’s funeral,” Pryor tearfully explains. “Nothing prepares you for it. What is so sad is that it was 100 percent avoidable. But Timothy made a choice, and it cost him the ultimate price – his life.”
Driving under the influence (DUI), generally defined as operating a motor vehicle while impaired by alcohol or drugs, is the most frequently committed violent crime in the country. In 2003 – the year Timothy Pryor was killed – 639 people died in drunk-driving accidents in Illinois. In 2004 and 2005 the number of deaths decreased to 604 and 580, respectively. The following year, DUI deaths slightly rose to 594. Since then, the number of fatalities has continued to decrease. By 2008 – the most recent statistics available – 408 people were killed in drunk-driving accidents.
Since Timothy Pryor’s death, legislators, pushed by Mothers’ Against Drunk Drivers (MADD), law enforcement and victims’ families, passed a flurry of laws that appear to have led to a decrease in the number of drunk-driving fatalities.
While those on the front lines of the battle applaud the decrease in DUI deaths, they say even more lives can be saved through additional laws, advanced technology, educating youths and reminding the public of the true cost of drunk driving.
Picking up the pieces Thirty-eight-year-old Danny Hicks only recalls bits and pieces of the evening that left him paralyzed from the chest down. He was 18. He remembers drinking with two friends while driving around Lake Springfield on July 17, 1990. His next memory was waking up at the hospital after a 28-day coma. Hicks soon learned that his friend lost control of the car, slamming the vehicle into a tree. Hicks was thrown through the windshield, breaking his back and causing both brain and spinal injury. He spent six months in the hospital, and anoth
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