Raiff lamented that Fox's friends, family and therapist didn't recognize her serious alcohol problem after she was arrested in December 2003 in Elwood for public intoxication and underage drinking, or when she was arrested Aug. 21 for drunken driving -- just two weeks before the crash that injured Raiff and Harmon.

Fox admitted on the witness stand Tuesday that she had been driving drunk before Elwood police found her parked on the side of the road, out of gas, with a bottle of Jack Daniels between her legs.

After the August arrest, Fox had a blood-alcohol content of 0.20 percent. After the Sept. 2 crash, her blood-alcohol content was 0.23 percent. The legal limit for driving in Indiana is 0.08 percent.

Fateful crash

Fox was driving on County Road 350 South in Lafayette on Sept. 2 when she drove her vehicle left of center into the path of four motorcyclists.

Fox's car sideswiped Raiff's motorcycle. In an effort to avoid a collision, Harmon veered off the road and struck a road sign before crashing in a ditch lined with large stones.

Two other motorcyclists traveling with Raiff and Harmon -- Michael Alsop and Kiran Pinisetti -- managed to avoid a collision by pulling onto the shoulder.

Fox drove away from the crash scene and was uncooperative with police when they caught up with her farther down the road.

Fox apologized Tuesday to the victims and their families and said it was unfair that her life will continue after the harm she caused Raiff, Harmon and their families.

"I know that I have caused a lot of pain and suffering from my mistake and I wish I could change it," she said. "I've learned how to be a better person and how the choices you make do affect other people."

But the apology rang hollow to the families of the two injured men, who have been burdened with their constant care.

Cynthia Harmon said her son, Pfc. Chris Harmon, 101st Airborne, was pursuing his lifelong dream of being a soldier and hoped to become an Army Ranger.

"Chris is patriotic. He loves his country and the freedom of choice that soldiers before him gave to all of us," she said, reading from a prepared statement. "Now, it's all been taken away. Not by the enemy, not on foreign soil, but by the very freedom of choice he would defend with his life."

Harmon said her son can't speak, feed himself or even comprehend what's happening around him. But she knows he feels pain when she manipulates the braces and splints that stretch the muscles and tendons of his rigid legs.

Doctors can't tell her if or when Chris will regain consciousness or how much function he may be able to regain if he does come out of the coma.

Chris receives 10 medications daily and has to be turned on his hospital bed every two hours, day and night, to prevent bed sores. His caregivers have to wipe drool from his face.

"He's trapped inside his own body," Cynthia Harmon said. "I want my son back."

She said the family left a home and jobs in Massachusetts to come here and tend to Chris' needs.

Raiff's family, which came for the sentencing from Dayton, Ohio, also described sacrifices they have made to care for Jerry, calling those sacrifices "collateral damage" from Fox's crime.

Jerry's younger brother, John Raiff, described having to hold his brother in his arms "like a child" while their mother helps him go to the bathroom.

Another brother, Michael Raiff, said his 68-year-old parents are "imprisoned in their own house" and can't enjoy their retirement because they can't leave Jerry unattended.

Shouting and pounding the witness stand with his fist, he told Fox, "You've put my family in a position where we have to be perfect every day. ... My family has to be perfect so that someone else can have poor judgment."

He then told Judge Don Johnson he was praying for him to hand down a just sentence.

Johnson found that aggravating circumstances in the case outweigh mitigating circumstances. He imposed a 14-year sentence, the maximum under Fox's plea agreement, and suspended four years. With maximum time off for good behavior, she could be released in about five years.

After the 21/2-hour sentencing hearing, members of the Raiff and Harmon families joined hands in the courtroom and prayed.

"Thank you for the wisdom of the judge," John Raiff said. "Let the healing begin."

Police recognition

Mothers Against Drunk Driving-West Central Indiana will present its 2004 Top Cop awards today, honoring the patrol officers from five area police agencies who made the most operating while intoxicated arrests in 2004.

The public is invited to attend the event at 2 p.m. in the Lafayette City Council chambers at city all, 20 N. Third St.

Awards will be presented for the officer with the most OWI arrests in 2004 from the Tippecanoe County Sheriff's Department, Indiana State Police, Lafayette police, West Lafayette police and Purdue University police.