You know it’s real when you feel like a piece of your heart is missing.

If you think that something this tragic will never happen to you, you are absolutely wrong. This is why I feel you should always tell your friends and your family that you love them because you never know when the last time you will see them is.

Addi Siscel, age 15 passed away in a car accident on April 29, 2023. On that Saturday, Addi had gone to a party with some of her friends and after she unknowingly got in the car with an intoxicated driver and at the time she left with all of her friends to head back home. They were on a two-lane road when there was a car coming up ahead, and the driver in Addis’ car swerved and had a head-on collision with the other driver. This accident killed everyone in the car except for the person in the passenger seat.

That night I found out and was immediately in disbelief not even believing that this had happened to sweet Addi. She was so kind, caring, and so loving. Being in her presence just would lighten up the whole room. I had some good memories with her but she was the one who really helped me get through my relationship with my first love that broke my heart, she was never not there for anyone that was going through something.

Drunk driving is the act of driving under the influence of alcohol. A small increase in the blood alcohol content increases the relative risk of a motor vehicle crash. In the United States, alcohol is involved in 30% of all traffic fatalities. Young people have been known to be most at risk for drunk driving. Data shows that drivers of the ages of 21-24 account for 27% of all fatal alchol-impaired crashes. 

This is a huge problem. There are several reasons why people drink and drive, but the most common ones are to try to escape their problems or to feel more confident behind the wheel. Safe driving requires focus, coordination, good judgment, and quick reactions to the environment.

The amount of alcohol in a person’s system can be measured. This measurement is called blood alcohol concentration (BAC). Most states have a legal BAC limit for driving at 0.08 grams of alcohol. However, impairment starts at a lower BAC level. Drunk driving is much akin to driving through a blurry haze (think beer goggles). Your ability to preserve what’s going on around you is severely a big blur, this is increasing your chances of causing an accident.

At the end of the day you have to take into account that you aren’t only a danger to yourself, you also pose a threat to the passengers in your vehicle, passing citizens, other vehicles on the road, and the buildings in structures in your community. What happened to my friend Addi Ciscel can happen to anyone you know or love so be sure to always tell your friends and family that you love them.