Also
attending
the
vigil
were
Sherry
and
Paul
Hockerman,
whose
two
children
were
killed
by a
drunken
driver
west
of
Chicago
on
July
31.
During
a
candle-lighting
ceremony,
the
two
identified
themselves
by
name
but
said
nothing
more.
In
2004,
there
were
299
deaths
related
to
alcohol
in
Indiana
and
16,694
in
the
United
States,
according
to
the
National
Highway
Traffic
Safety
Administration.
In
the
same
year,
police
in
Tippecanoe
County
logged
1,043
drunken
driving
arrests.
Georgia
O'Connor
lost
her
son,
Steven
Brooks,
on
April
15,
1999,
in a
crash
caused
by a
drunken
driver.
At
the
vigil
Tuesday,
she
said,
"After
Steve's
death,
I
had
to
learn
to
live
again.
The
things
I
enjoyed,
I
had
to
learn
to
start
enjoying
again.
I
had
to
think
about
them
in a
different
way.
I
had
to
turn
all
the
negatives
into
positives."
Dan
Towery,
a
founder
of
the
local
MADD
chapter
whose
daughter
Sarah
was
killed
by a
drunken
driver
in
1999,
tried
to
explain
why
it
is
particularly
horrible
to
lose
a
loved
one
in
such
a
manner.
"Death
is
inevitable,"
he
said.
"It's
going
to
happen
to
all
of
us."
But
in
an
accident
involving
drunken
driving,
"two
seconds
and
your
life
is
turned
upside
down,"
he
said.
"You
ask,
'Why?'
and
don't
get
an
answer."
How
to
help
To
join
West
Central
Indiana
of
Mothers
Against
Drunk
Driving,
call
Dan
Towery
at
490-0197
or
via
e-mail
at
dan@ddreform.org
