The Crash that Saved a Life

Sam R got himself into big trouble nearly at the expense of an innocent person's life. While driving a motor vehicle on the freeway with a very high blood alcohol level, he sideswiped another vehicle causing it to go out of control, and off the freeway down an embankment where it hit a tree. The resulting collision injured the other driver, but it was his passenger who suffered the most. Despite wearing a seat belt, the injuries from the impact left her paralyzed.

Arrested and charged with a DUI causing serious bodily injury, he did two things after bailing out of custody: he hired a lawyer, and he began attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings on a daily basis. Unfortunately, when he told his lawyer that he was attending meetings and felt he should be in a treatment program, the lawyer told him to stop. He reasoned that if the prosecutor became aware he was attending AA or in a program, that that it would be looked at as an admission of guilt for which he would do a significant amount of jail time. Nevertheless, Sam continued in the meetings, got a sponsor, and began working the twelve steps of AA. Eventually in disagreement with his lawyer, he came to our office.

Immediately, Sam agreed to enter a residential treatment program that was probation approved, and state-licensed, and it was there that he began a long period of recovery. Soon, realizing there was no defense to his case, Sam agreed to plead guilty to the judge, who in turn agreed to withhold his sentencing until he became satisfied that Sam was well along the road to recovery. Each month, we would bring Sam into Court for the Judge to assess his progress. A representative of the program would be present to give both a verbal and written report of his progress, which was always excellent.

During this time, a lawsuit was filed against Sam by the injured party in the accident, and I decided to send copies of Sam's progress to the victim's lawyers.

Many months later, I received a call from that lawyer, who told me that he had been passing the program’s reports onto the victim, and he wanted me to know that the woman who had been injured was very impressed with his hard work. It was three months later that I received a most amazing call from that same lawyer. It was to tell me that the injured woman had been involved in intensive physical therapy, and that she had miraculously regained the ability to walk.