Aftermath of the Crash
Our world was changed forever April 6, 2015 at 11:20 PM Central Standard Time. It was not for the better.
That day
On April 6, 2015 Ruby stayed with us while her parents went to a movie. They were celebrating Shannon’s recent promotion to Shift Supervisor. It was a rare night out for them. Ruby was with us from 5:00 pm until her parents picked her up at 10:30. We had dinner and played until I went to bed at 9:30. Her Gram’pa was with her when her parents picked her up. He told me they were all happy and laughing. Their night had been good. From our apartment they went to Wal Mart before going home. They bought diapers, tummy medicine for Ruby and even a brand new ball. Jason had bought head phones to use with his new PS4. They left the Wal Mart and headed west on Reno Ave obviously going to the McDonald’s at Reno and Council as they often did. It was 11:20 PM As they traveled through the intersection, there was a car traveling south on Rockwell. This car was driven by a 22 year old male that had spent his evening drinking and smoking marijuana. He was going at a speed between 80 and 90 mph when he ran the red light T Boning the car my babies were in. Shannon died instantly as she took the full force of the blow. She was 30 years old that night. Jason died on the way to the hospital. But according to what I have been told, he was brain dead on impact. CPR was performed on Jason for 50 minutes, but no regular heart beat was ever gained. He was 34 years old. Ruby died at 4:18 am, alone for the first time in her life. She was 22 months old. Ruby was 1 month and 7 days from her 2nd birthday. She died because of internal injuries. The paddles were used 5 different times trying to keep her tiny heart beating before the doctors and nurses lost her. My husband and I, we were asleep while all this took place. We learned about the crash by watching the morning news as we started our day.
Their Car
The Flip Side, the drunk driver.
On the other side of Ruby’s story is a whole different story, the drunk driver. Because of the choice he made, his story is mine as well. The drunk driver in our case is Demetrius Price. What we were told about his past is that his first felony charge was at the age of 12 and was a burglary. As a juvenile he had a total of 11 felonies. As an adult, he started out quickly. At 18 he gained adult charges of felony burglary and trying to sell a stolen gun to a pawn shop. While in jail waiting for bail he was found with a shank under his mattress. The judge gave him 3 deferred sentences for these charges. Not 2 years into the deferred sentences he was charged with possession with intent to distribute. He was given bail and allowed out once again. On the night of April 6, 2015, he was driving south on Rockwell. As Jason drove across the intersection, his car was T boned. Price never hit his brakes. When the police arrived he told them it was not their fault, his light had just changed from RED to Yellow and he was accelerating to get through the yellow. Two hours and seven minutes after the crash, Prices’ BAC was .13. The estimated BAC at time of crash, .20 up to .25. There was also marijuana and other drugs in his system at the time. The 3 counts of manslaughter bring his total felony charges on a 22 year old to 18. Had the courts ever realized he was not going to obey the law and place him in prison where he belonged, my kids would be alive today. On that night Price had a son that was about 2 or 3. His girlfriend was 5 to 7 months pregnant. The judge in the case gave him 22 years for his deferred sentences, 25 for the drug charges and 3 life sentences. Each charge to be served consecutive to each other. This means he will serve 182 years in prison. While I believe the state of Oklahoma is safer with Price behind bars, it is not justice for us. Justice would be to have Jason Shannon and Ruby knock on our door. However, I am grateful he is being punished at long last. I do feel bad for his children. Because of the choice he made to drive drunk, he will never be in their lives. He won’t tuck them in at night, take them to school. He won’t see them play sports or graduate from school. He will not be there when they marry or become parents. His choice has denied them of a father. If you learn only one thing from this I hope it is this. DUI is not an accident, it is a choice. You can put yourself in Price’s place reading this. If you are not concerned you will take a life, are you concerned this could be your kids?
.JPG)
.JPG)
