Washington Week: Student Voices (O)

U. Maine grad warns of drunk driving's costs
By Courtney Small
The Maine Campus (U. Maine)
04/27/2007

(U-WIRE) ORONO, Maine — Three men currently in prison for drinking and driving accidents, one of whom is a University of Maine graduate, shared their personal stories last night in hopes of generating awareness of a real-life experience.

The speakers were apart of the Choices program, which sends inmates to talk about their stories at schools across Maine. This is the first time that the program has come to a university.

"They know that someone in this room needs their information," said David Boynton, case manager of the Choices program. "For this project I am not giving them any special privilege," he said. "They are coming here out of their own hearts."

The first speaker was 28-year-old UMaine graduate Sean George. He is currently sentenced to 11 years in prison.

"What I thought that I was doing was socially acceptable, and that every other person in America was doing it," George said. "But when you go out, you start making a habit. I started turning it into a game." When George was drunk driving with a friend, he crossed into another lane and hit an oncoming car.

Later when he talked to the sheriff, he was told that the little girl in the other car was dead and that his friend was in the hospital. "I will never forget that man's eyes. I started thinking about those drinking and driving commercials and how much of a dumbass I was." George waited a year before he was sentenced. "The weight of this experience will crush your mind."

George was accompanied by two other men, Mike Carney and Adam Weymouth. Both were involved in fatal drunk driving collisions as well.

Carney, 43, has been in prison for 11 years serving a 15-year sentence. He is a nine-time DUI offender.

Weymouth, who is serving an 11-year sentence, also had a drunk driving incident. He played "God Bless the Broken Road," a song by Rascal Flatts, on piano. "I wake up with that image of my friend everyday," Weymouth said. "I can't tell you how much guilt I carry around."

Jon Bowen, a friend of George, came up with the idea for the Choices visit. "I think this will be a good opportunity for students to be aware of the situations that can and have gone on here," Bowen said. "It hits people close to home when a person tells them their real stories."

Residence Life, the Alcohol and Drug Education Programs, the Counseling Center and Peer Educators hosted the event.

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