Welcome to the Drunk Drivers Suck page!

This is my personal account of a drunk driving accident, in which I was hit nearly head on by a drunk driver, and in which my vehicle was totaled. Doesn't that just suck?

Don't misunderstand me, though. This is not a page devoted to the condemnation of alcohol, because I have probably had more than my share! However, if you're intoxicated, blasted, blitzed, shit-faced, or whatever-you-want-to-call it, DON'T DRIVE! Crash your drunk ass on the floor, or call a cab or something!

(But if you've got to get somewhere that badly, perhaps you shouldn't be drinking in the first place! hmmmm .. ya think?)


Updated Info! For those of you that have visited the page before, the most current events and news tidbits are available here, in the Updates section! The News is current as of 11 April 1999.

This site was featured in the Alcoholism Guide at the Mining Co. in DUI Victims: Still Suffering.
Many thanks to Buddy T for the exposure and support.

http://alcoholism.miningco.com/


Okay, here goes:

On Saturday night, March 1 1997 at about 11:30 PM, I had been visiting the business office of Red Barn Data Center. (one fine ISP, I must say!) My friend Mike and I were on our way back into town, to head to the local IHOP and get some grub. (46K) As we were heading up the hill on Ebert Street, I saw (and heard) a new gold Nissan Altima coming my way, going much too quickly, squealing tires, unsuccessfully negotiating a turn, and IN MY LANE! Little did I know that the driver, MARK ANTHONY PARKS had been drinking just a bit too much. (34K)

Dodge Van ImageI swerved right to avoid a head on collision, and he crashed into me, scraping down the entire length of my 1985 Dodge Van*, on the drivers side, from headlight to taillight, crunching metal, bending rims, and popping tires all the way. I went spinning, wedged into an embankment on the other side of the road, and he KEPT GOING! Hello? Can you say hit and run? (3K)

Luckily, I wasn’t hurt, that I could tell. (21K) Maybe I was lucky that I was sitting up high in that van, or else I would’ve been the next victim in the meatwagon. I staggered out of the wreckage through the only door that wasn’t stuck. My friend Mike had been watching all of this from his car following behind me, and had been sprayed with glass while trying to avoid a collision too. He saw that I was okay, and immediately whipped around to chase after Mark Anthony Parks, the drunk driver of the gold Nissan Altima. (hey Mike, did I ever tell you that you are The Man?)(21K)

Apparently, he had gone as far as his poor totaled car could take him, burning rubber on blown tires the whole way. He was so drunk that Mike was able to coax him into the car and bring him back to the scene of the accident. Mike dropped Mr. Mark Anthony Parks off, and hauled ass to go call the police. Mr. Parks stood there, uncomfortably for a moment, picking glass out of his face, and asked if I was all right. (83K) "Well, I’m physically okay, I think, but just a LITTLE BIT PISSED OFF. What do YOU think?", I replied. (39K)

He got tired of waiting, and perhaps just a little bit worried, and left on foot, back towards his car. (Hello? Leaving the scene of an accident --- TWICE?!?) At this moment, two officers from the Winston-Salem Police Department arrived, officers T. Osborne (15K) and C. Doub. (Chriiiiiiiiiissssssss! The Mannnnnn!)(18K) These guys did a great job! Osborne proceeded to prepare the accident report, ("I just love these things!" I think, is the way he put it), and Doub zoomed off to pick up Mr. Mark Anthony Parks to return him to the accident scene.(29K)

They brought Mr. Parks back to the scene of the accident, where he failed every test that they tried on him. I think that I found out later in court that he had blown a 0.18% blood alcohol level, which is MORE than twice the legal limit of 0.08%. So he was carried off in handcuffs.(24K)

Now it gets interesting. After waiting for the rest of the weekend without a vehicle, I started making calls on early Monday morning, March 3 1997, only to find out that Mr. Mark Anthony Parks was UNINSURED! (17K) Well isn’t that just great! However, I must commend my insurer, State Farm Insurance Company, for being very helpful in getting me into a rental car and assessing my totaled van. Their Uninsured Motorist coverage really saved the day. (20K)

Well, needless to say, after all of this, and two court dates (the first one was continued), I was not a very happy camper. And to top it all off, at the second court date, (and another day out of work) Mr. Parks was pretty much let off with a simple slap on the wrist. Judge Roland Hayes, who was chopping heads left and right, was unusually soft on him.(22K) Mr. Mark Anthony Parks got off with a little community service after he presented some paperwork showing that he had been through some Alcohol Therapy, and he even got his driver’s license back! Look out world, another drunk is back on the road!

So as you can see, Mr. MARK ANTHONY PARKS is not Mr. Popularity with me, damn drunk.278K


M.A.D.D.
M.A.D.D. - North Carolina Chapter

* DISCLAIMER - unfortunately, no pictures were ever taken of the original Dodge Van in question,
so an artist's rendering was used to represent my dearly departed 'Soopa-Fly'.


Updated #2, 11 April 1999

This site was featured in the Alcoholism Guide at the Mining Co. in DUI Victims: Still Suffering.
Many thanks to Buddy T for the exposure and support.

http://alcoholism.miningco.com/

Update #1, 28 July 1997

It has been five months since the accident, and here is the first updated information that I have available.

On last Friday, the 25th of July 1997, I had a phone conversation with Mark Anthony Parks, also known as The Drunk. Up to this point, I hadn't spoken to him, because he avoided speaking with me after the accident, in addition to avoiding me in the courtrooms, both times that I had to go.

First, let me provide a bit of background information:

I have never received any reimbursement from Mr. Parks, through insurance, or out-of-pocket. Up to this point, the replacement vehicle, rental car, towing and storage charges have all been covered under MY Uninsured Motorist coverage, through State Farm.

State Farm has now begun the proceedings to get their money, and my deductible, back from Mr. Parks. This involves contacting the North Carolina DMV, to "check on" (read: "notify them") of the status of his insurance. Apparently, from what the folks at the Charlottesville VA State Farm office tell me, due to his lack of insurance, his license will be suspended indefinitely on August 1 1997, pending repayment of the damages.

So I spoke with Mr. Parks on Friday. He had called about three times before, but I was unavailable. He immediately put me on hold after I got to the phone. Now that I look back on it, I wouldn't be surprised if he was probably doing some recording of our conversation, to perhaps catch me in some sort of compromising position.

First he tried to soften things with some feeble chitchat. The one thing that I DIDN'T hear was any form of regret, or even a simple apology. He asked me everything regarding my accident was "taken care of." I could see where he was going with this. I simply stated that MY insurance company had paid for my expenses, and nothing came from him, so NO, it hadn't been "taken care of."

Here's where it gets juicy...

He said that the DMV was breathing down his neck about his lack of insurance at the time of the accident, and asked me to sign a paper that stated that I had been reimbursed and that he was clear of all financial responsibility for me. I told him no, that the matter was between him and my insurance company.

He pressured me more, and wondered why I wouldn't sign it, even though I had been "taken care of." After I told him that I would be lying if I said that, and implied that saying anything else would constitute fraud, he made a hasty retreat and hung up.

Needless to say, I quickly called my contact at the State Farm office and told her about the conversation. She hypothesized that perhaps he had been receiving their letters requesting reimbursement, and thought that he needed to call me. I pointed out to her that he was well aware of what was going on, and was trying to sucker me into saving his ass from any responsibility for his actions. I used the same two words with her that I used with him, "lying" and "fraud", and she instantly knew what was happening, and what we suspect he was up to.

...more news as it happens!


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