On the evening of Thanksgiving 2005 around 11:15 PM Friday night, Alan came home from working as a waiter at Rosas Italian Restaurant in Visalia. He informed me he was going to a party, he was leaving his car and keys home and that a friend was giving him a ride.
We had not celebrated Thanksgiving yet and were going to do so on Sunday the 27th with the Family.Alan (19 Years old) ended up taking a small mini bike to the Party about 1 1/2 miles from our house. My wife is a nurse, and works the 2-11 PM shift that evening she worked until 2:30AM.
Alan while at the party did consume alcohol, he met another young man (20 Years Old) Mr. (OK) someone he did not know - this young man had a fast car and a nice stereo system and invited Alan to go for a ride. Alan's Friend Mr. (X) told Alan they did not know this guy and they did not know if he was drunk. Someone else stepped up to them and said that Mr. (OK) was cool, so Alan stated I guess he is cool, and proceeded to leave with Mr. (OK) Mr. X Alan's friend was invited to go for this ride but refused and stayed at the party, he even asked Alan not to go. They never returned.
After a while Alan's friend Mr. X left the party and saw were the accident occurred, he drove to another friend of Alan's named Josh who ended up calling us at home - this was about 3:30 AM. All anyone knew is that Alan was in an accident and they thought he might be at the hospital. My wife had answered the telephone and woke me up, as I was walking out side to warm up the vehicle and leave for the hospital - when a lady police officer pulled in our front driveway came to the house and told us Alan was dead. I can't tell you what happened at that moment in time (I CAN ONLY PRAY THAT OTHER PARENTS AND FAMILIES NEVER HAVE TO HERE THOSE WORDS).
Alan's tragic story is only one of thousands of stories that happen every year in this country. Teen DRINKING AND DRIVING accounts for more deaths than all the illegal drugs combined.
After this accident I found out that people who furnished the alcohol to minors were usually not investigated. ***IT IS ONLY A MISDEMEANOR IN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA TO FURNISH ALCOHOL TO A MINOR***.
BEFORE THIS HAPPENS TO ANOTHER FAMILY - THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU ARE DOING!!!
