Choices
Troy Hovey stole the life of a good man, full of life and good will. Amit Tandon was only 32 years old. He was a son, a husband, a friend, and he would have been a great dad… I truly believe that everyone who knew Amit was better for having him in their lives, I know I am a better person. He was not just Deepika’s husband; he was her best friend and love of her life. Deepika must now face the rest of her life without him by her side. Never to feel his kisses upon her cheeks, never to have him there to comfort her, tease her, hug her, support her, or love her. Jevesh will never have the chance to truly know his father. He will not have his father there for him as he struggles with his health issues. He will never have his father there to teach him to become a man. Friends and family are deprived of his friendship, kindness, and great wisdom.
Drunk Driving is not a mistake, it is not an accident, it is not an error...it is a choice, plain and simple. I believe that anyone above the age of, probably 12 (younger for those unfortunate to suffer the results of someone's choice to drink and drive), knows that drinking and driving is dangerous and has the high potential of resulting in severe injury or death, this is not a surprise, not to anyone. A person knows before that first sip passes their lips that they need to make appropriate plans for a safe way home...and to do otherwise puts lives at risk.
If a person chooses to drink and drive then they should be held accountable for their choices. Whether or not they are a good person, have a particular job, have had a particular surgery, or even that they have a family of their own, does not excuse a bad choice or eliminate responsibility for the terrible results of those choices…Victims of DUI have families, are good people, have good jobs, but in the end…they do not get a choice.
If a person chooses to drink and drive, they choose to become a killer...they may not have chosen their specific victim...but they have chosen to behave in a manner that will likely cost someone (or more than one person) their life and ultimately bring about tremendous pain and heartache to those left behind to pick up the pieces. The emotional and physical toll that a family and surviving friends must endure after losing a loved one to a collision resulting from DUI is immeasurable.
Hovey drank to excess...He Chose to drink (elevating his BAC to Three Times the Legal Limit)...He Chose Not to call his wife or a taxi or Someone to get a safe ride home...He Chose to get behind the wheel of a multi-ton vehicle turned death machine...He Chose to drive at excessive speeds (between 60-90 mph by law enforcement estimates)...He Chose to talk on a cell phone while driving (at excessive speeds and intoxicated). All of these Choices ultimately lead to Hovey driving through a barrier and driving the wrong way on 99... Hovey collided with Amit’s truck and I can only pray that his death was instant and that he had no chance for regrets, for thoughts of his wife and child, a wife and child he would never have the chance to see, to hold, to love (can you imagine having to consider the broken body of someone you care about, hanging out of a vehicle, their life destroyed by a reckless and selfish person?…I have to…Deepika has had to, Amit’s family have had to) …and now…Troy Hovey has willfully chosen to violate probation, reopening wounds for all those that cared about Amit, that care about Deepika and Jevesh.
What happened on August 6th of 2008 was a collision resulting from one person's series of Selfish, Bad choices...That crash was not an accident, an accident implies no one is at fault...It is no different than waving a gun around and having it go off...one knows that a gun can be dangerous and that waving it around is extremely dangerous...and if you choose to wave that gun around...you know there is a risk that someone will get hurt or die...Troy Hovey made choices... and because of one man's series of bad choices, the life of a son, brother, uncle, husband, friend, and father, was stolen. Deepika and Jevesh have received life sentences, a lifetime without husband and father. Amit's family, life sentences...Amit's friends, life sentences... Me, I have a life sentence. Amit Tandon never had a choice, he received a death sentence. Deepika and Jevesh, and all those that cared about Amit, never had a choice.
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