ROANOKE, VA – A horror movie turned reality.
“This only happens in the movies - but it happened to us. We are that family who is forever affected,” Chris Worley said.
For Chris Worley - his worst nightmare as a dad came true on December 16 - when his daughter Lauren and her boyfriend were hit head-on by an alleged drunk driver.
“He was heavily intoxicated and absolutely should not have been behind the wheel. When he hit them, he came in their lane, I think it was pretty abruptly,” Worley said.
Lauren was left with a 1% chance of survival.
“The trauma doctor told me he’s never seen her injury make it to the hospital alive,” he said.
But after over 60 days in the hospital and countless surgeries - Lauren defied the odds and made it home.
“My daughter did not deserve this,” Worley said.
She’s slowly but surely finding a new normal - but Carilion Trauma Outreach Coordinator Ottilia Lewis tells us that for many people involved in drunk driving accidents, this isn’t the case.
“We’ve seen a 5% increase in mortalities from motor vehicle crashes that involve alcohol. So, it’s one of those things, you really need to remember that the decisions you’re making behind the wheel, don’t just affect you,” Lewis said.
That increase is just one of the reasons for Virginia’s ‘Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over’ campaign that launched Monday. It aims to keep drunk drivers off of the road.
“We see these people. We see the drivers, we see the passengers, we see the person in the other car. We see the faces and the families. We see them cheer when something good happens, we hear them cry and cry with them when there’s an unfortunate outcome. So it might seem like it’s just another crash or just another person, but these are actual human being’s lives,” Lewis said.
Worley wants Lauren’s story to be a warning to drunk drivers - not just another statistic.
“There’s families that are forever going to be affected by your negligent decision. You may think you’re okay to drive, I’m sure this guy thought he was okay to drive. Just know that your life is going to forever be changed,” he said.