Ruralite Cafe: Published 05/08/03

By Lynn Hotaling - Associate Editor

A Mother's Day tale of two students

We don't even have much of a local connection, another staple of most of our reports.

Scott, 24, an N.C. State engineering student who planned to graduate this month, was walking home Sept. 27 in Raleigh. He made it as far as his driveway.

That same night Jennifer, 24, a student at UNC-Chapel HIll, was behind the wheel of her 1993 Ford Explorer. She'd been drinking - a lot - and was driving way too fast through a Raleigh residential neighborhood.

I wish I could alter this story right here. I'd tell you how Jennifer, recognizing she'd had two or three too many, pulled over near Scott's house and sought help. Good Samaritan Scott then gave her some coffee and took her home, realizing that she was in no shape to drive herself.

But if I told you that, I'd be lying. What happened was that Jennifer's 1:30 a.m. arrival in Scott's driveway was marked by the loud crash that heralded the end of Scott's life.

I heard about Jennifer and Scott in a roundabout way. We hear a lot of sad stories around here, but I couldn't stop thinking about this one.

It could be because I have a Scott at home. He'll turn 17 next week, and we're already discussing his college plans.

I don't have a Jennifer, but I do have an Elizabeth, 21, who will receive her engineering degree from N.C. State May 17. Her family will be there to glory in her accomplishment; Scott's family will spend that day mourning their loss.

To learn more about Jennifer and Scott, I looked up accounts of the September accident and Jennifer's April trial in the Raleigh News & Observer.

Scott had a job interview scheduled the Friday after he died. His neighbors heard the crash and found him dead of massive head injuries. Jennifer's blood alcohol level was almost three times the legal limit. After the accident, she was bleeding, dazed and disoriented, asking questions like "Where am I?" and "What happened?" Jennifer wrote a three-page letter to Scott's family, apologizing for her actions.

Scott's father, Jeffrey, and brother, Mark, spoke during her trial.

In describing what it was like to get a 3 a.m. phone call and learn his son was dead, Scott's father said, "This is every parent's nightmare." And then he said, "We really don't sleep much beyond 3 a.m. any more."

Jennifer and Scott's tragic encounter happened in Raleigh, near the N.C. State campus, but it could have happened anywhere.

Without knowing that Scott or even seeing his picture, I mourn him. Having watched my own Scott grow, I can imagine his mother's refrigerator: The sweet note from her 5-year-old, the gap-toothed second-grader, the grinning Little Leaguer, the gangly high school freshman.

Scott did what he was supposed to, arriving at what should have been the right place at what turned out to be exactly the wrong time. He was blindsided after Jennifer failed to negotiate a turn, ran her speeding SUV up an embankment, rolled through some bushes and arrived in the driveway at the precise moment Scott should have been safe at home.

Parents everywhere worry that their child will end up a victim, as Scott did, knowing all the while it's something that none of us can control.

It's Jennifer our children can learn from. As the judge said, she did a terrible thing, but she's not a terrible person. She's a good student who hit hard times, struggling with depression and substance abuse. She made an abysmally poor choice that night, and Scott suffered the consequences.

Jennifer pleaded guilty in a Wake County courtroom to involuntary manslaughter. The judge gave her an opportunity to rebuild her life (spent since the accident in alcohol-treatment programs and halfway houses) as she completes three years of probation and community service. During each of those three years, she'll spend Mother's Day, Father's Day, Christmas and Scott's birthday, March 14, in jail.

"You made one decision that took (Scott's) life," the judge said. "My judgment today will give you the opportunity to make many decisions to honor his life."

Following Jennifer's sentence, the News & Observer published two letters, one calling it a travesty of justice, and one praising the judge for a novel approach that might salvage one life.

Scott's mother will spend a lonely Mother's Day Sunday. And Jennifer will spend the day in jail, wishing she could rewrite the events of Sept. 27 to provide a happier ending.

When my kids ask what I want for Mother's Day, I'm going to request they listen to a story. Then I'll tell them about Scott and Jennifer, and how one bad decision shattered two lives.

Scott was a real person. He had a mother, Kay, who will be missing him like crazy on Sunday, and he won't be in Raleigh a week from Saturday to receive his diploma.

Jennifer is equally real. She never meant to harm Scott, but, aided by one misguided and foolish decision, she killed him.

Let's tell their story to all the young people we know.

Back to Archive: 05/08/03.