It's
been a little over four years since my son
Daren was taken from my family. Taken by an
unthinking person who made the decision to
drive drunk-- a person who had never had a
driver's license and shouldn't
have been behind the wheel even if he was
sober-- a person who made a huge mistake.
A mistake that Daren paid for with his life
and my family will pay for with a lifetime
of pain.
Daren
graduated from the University of Illinois
in May of 1998. It was the proudest day of
my life. He was now ready to attend medical
school, for it was his lifelong dream to be
a doctor. Little did I know that 2 months
later would be the worst day of my life. On
September 11th of 2001, I wept for the families
that had lost loved ones in the terrorist
attacks because I could feel their pain. It
was tragic and appalling. Some 3,000 people
lost their lives that day and all of America
was appalled. Yet, we have our own form of
terrorism in this country. We as Americans
kill 16,000 of our own every year in Drunk
Driving crashes and these crashes are 100%
preventable. I find this even more appalling.
However, your chances of being killed by a
drunk driver are much better than being killed
by a terrorist. This is something that we
can all do something about.
I
first became involved with AAIM when my wife
and I needed someone to turn to. Our son had
just been killed and we were devastated. I
got a call from Pat Larson telling us about
AAIM and how it could help. Then Val Szach
called and told us about a support group for
victims and their families run by AAIM. We
went and it really helped us to get through
some rough times. After a while, we went to
be of help to new victims and their families.
Now, my wife Carol, and I run that support
group. I speak at impact panels and anywhere
AAIM wants me to. I serve on the benefit committee
and try to help raise money for AAIM. I want
to give back for what they have done for me.
I want to help other families that are going
through what mine did. But most of all, I
want to help prevent other families from ever
having to go through this pain.
Thank
you AAIM for all of your help. Thank you to
my wife, Carol and my children, Dave, Dion,
and Deanne for being as wonderful as they
are.
Dave
Perozzi
Father of Daren
Volunteer for AAIM
