With school starting back up again, parents like Heather Porte Peterson were hoping to get just one more day of fun for their kids before sending them back to the classroom.
That's why she and her 11-year-old twins decided to enjoy the day at the local lake beach in Jefferson County, MO, with their cheer group. What should have been a carefree end-of-summer celebration turned into a traumatizing nightmare for the roughly 150 people surrounding them, many of them being children.
A woman who had admittedly been drinking made the awful decision to still get behind the wheel of her car, causing panic as she barreled through the concrete barrier toward the sand.
By some miracle, no one was hurt by her negligence, but Heather isn't letting the thoughtless woman get away with it so easily. Instead, she wrote an emotional plea to that woman to understand how much pain she caused, if not also be held accountable for her actions.
The car was just a few feet away from where Heather and her twins were lounging in the sand.
Posting photos on her Facebook page, she also includes a heartbreaking message to the driver:
"Dear Drunk Driver,
There is so much I want to say to you right now. I want you to hear my version, one from a sober mother.
You scared an entire beach full of [approximately] 150 people because you chose to get in your car today and drive. You plummeted down a hill in reverse and were so intoxicated that you didn't know the difference between the brake and the accelerator.
I want you to know that parents were scrambling to get their children. Parents were screaming 'She's not stopping!,' and it was complete mayhem. You caused that.
Thankfully, your car attached itself to a picnic table, which slowed you down or you would have killed [approximately] 30 children sitting in the sand making sand castles."
This is the hill the car was seen tumbling down without control.
Heather goes on to explain how the driver acted after the chaos calmed down, and they waited for police to arrive.
"You knew you were drunk and even said that you had [two] drinks and a shot before getting in your car. You were laughing when you said, 'At least no one got hurt.'
I stood there quietly and watched you drink endless bottles of water and eat an entire box of crackers while we waited for the police to arrive. What bothers me is that you seemed more worried about getting a DWI than wondering about the 75+ children that could have been injured or killed.
My children are my world. I've already had one child taken from me too soon, and I am not strong enough to go through that again."
Heather continues, "This is the concrete wall you drove over."
It took officers nearly two hours to arrive at the scene, which the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office explains was due to there being no injuries and a need to respond to higher priority calls first.
However, in that time, the woman showed no remorse — even smiling and joking around — and was not asked to take a breathalyzer when they finally arrived.
Soon after she posted the heartfelt message, other parents who were present at the time began flooding the comments, many impressed with her ability to remain calm and poignant at the same time.
The level of fear this woman put in the hearts of parents and children is not something that should be taken so lightly.
Heather also mentioned how her kids had several questions on their ride home, but the one answer she made sure to drive home: "It is NEVER [OK] to drink and drive… ever!"
She hopes that by sharing the distress they experienced, it will help others make smarter decisions.
Take a look below to hear more from Heather, and be sure to SHARE her important words with your loved ones.
