Classmates
driver not having a prior conviction, it is unlikely it was the first time that person drove impaired.
Maggie and Paul, both injured, know that the other driver walked away uninjured. The driver identified as Thomas Muir of Media, plead guilty to two counts of homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence and related charges. He was 25 at the time, around my age.
Charlotte was a junior when she was killed. When I interviewed teachers a week later about Charlotte, I learned that the she would have been 17 when the story was printed. For the family and friends, birthdays are hard. Special moments like birthdays and holidays are hurtful when our loved ones aren’t here to celebrate it.
Downingtown students entered a contest this year to create slogans that showed how impaired driving ruins lives. The slogans also encouraged safe choices to prevent impaired driving, especially during prom night. Among the winners, was one Charlotte’s best friends. PA PAID has an important message, as Maggie said, that becoming intoxicated and then deciding to drive is a deliberate choice. DUI-related crashes and deaths could be avoided by the choice to not drive impaired. Parents have said driving impaired is a selfish act because it endangers everyone else on the road. I hope that people remember Charlotte and Miles, and others who were killed by a drunk driver, before they get behind the wheel after drinking.
Maggie Hannagan said that when her children were killed, that “in an instant, the dreams and aspirations of our children were ended.” Maggie said she and Paul have great sorrow thinking about what might have been for Charlotte and Miles.
Cameron Evans, who enjoyed running, had plans to join the West cross country team. Cameron, a Downingtown Middle School student, died at 14 in May 2012 of leukemia.
Downingtown STEM Academy students hosted the Cam-A-Thon fundraiser for the past three years. The event raises money toward “Cure4Cam” Childhood Cancer Organization for research and more. They work hard toward raising money for a cure one day.
Students from Downingtown’s three high schools raised more than $45,000 for pediatric cancer research in his honor, during what would have been his senior year.
Cameron enjoyed writing. One of my favorite things he wrote was about a comparison between facing a tough life challenge and stepping in mud.
Cameron wrote, “As we run through life, we step into many moments, both good and bad, but as long as we don’t change our shoes too much, there is nothing we can’t handle. Currently I am stepping in mud, and when I get out of the mud, it will leave a trace on everything else that I step on. This can be a good thing as long as I am positive in the mud, so that the trail I later leave is a good one. The mud may stain my shoe, but it will not change the brand or the foot inside, only build up its character.”
Well said, Cameron. in February 2015 after a train carrying Bakken crude derailed and caused sky-high flames and town evacuations.
Saturday’s exercise lasted about four hours and went off without a hitch, as far as Corcoron could tell.
“There haven’t been any problems with the plan that I can see. Part of the thing is that there’s so many moving parts that if issues have come up I may not be aware of them,” Corcoron explained. “Afterwards we all talk about what happened during the day and things may have gone wrong and gone right that I don’t know about yet but then there will be an after-action report review that’s done about basically the entire thing.”