Every day every one of us has choices to make: what time we get out of bed, what we eat for breakfast, what clothes to wear, what we do at work, what we do with our friends and family, etc., etc.
Often times we have choices to make that we don’t particularly like or that have potential consequences, but they are choices we all have to make.
This past weekend, several young people in our community made some very bad choices, choices that could have had dire consequences.
On Friday evening, a mini-van driven by a 15-year-old girl with a 17-year-old female passenger slammed into the bleachers at Hackett Park in Sechelt.
It was just by the grace of God that there were very minor injuries. A men’s fastball game had just started, and had it been an inning or two later, the stands would most likely have been filled with fans. The chances of someone getting killed as a result of this accident would have been far greater.
The accident was alarming on so many fronts. For one, the driver was too young to even be at the wheel, and through police investigation was suspected to be intoxicated at the time. She is facing an impaired driving charge, among other driving offences.
The next night, RCMP were left scratching their heads once again when they were called by a resident on Tillicum Bay Road in Sechelt, who was concerned about possible impaired drivers leaving in their vehicles from a house party in the area.
Sure enough, after establishing a road check, a 21-year-old woman, a 20-year-old woman and an 18-year-old man were all pulled over in three different vehicles. All three failed breath tests, an open beer can was seen on the floor of one of the vehicles and, in the case of the 18-year-old male driver, he had two passengers in the trunk.
Police are most concerned that these young people would make such poor choices, choices that could have put themselves, their passengers and innocent bystanders at risk.
Sadly, hundreds of people are killed each and every year on our roadways all across this country because of bad decisions. Instead of leaving their vehicle at the party or pub and catching a taxi, calling a friend or using a designated driver, some people make the choice to drive home — while impaired.
We join with our local RCMP in hoping that all these young folks learned a valuable lesson last weekend and will make better choices in the future. We’re certain that a parent or a friend would much rather get a phone call asking for a ride home than a call from the RCMP with the grim news of a deadly accident.
— Ian Jacques
