2008 Woodie Awards
Drunken motorists rule the roads
Out of Left Field
Garrett Quinn
Issue date: 12/1/04 Section: Opinion
After a night of celebrating his 20th birthday with friends, Rich Hegerich's life was tragically cut short by a drunk driver. The University of New Hampshire student was walking home alone the night of Nov. 21, when fellow UNH student Kevin Whitaker, 19 of Nashua, ran him down with his car. Whitaker was so drunk that he did not stop after the collision and continued driving. A little after 1 a.m. Whitaker was stopped by UNH police officer Kendra Neri. She pulled Whitaker over for a faulty headlight and was eventually arrested. Officer Neri may have prevented the drunk-punk from taking another life so traumatically. Unfortunately, Whitaker is only charged with driving while intoxicated and leaving the scene of an accident. Due to laughable drunk driving statutes Whitaker will face a maximum of eight years in jail and a $2,000 slap on the wrist, if convicted. Hopefully he is charged with vehicular homicide and receives his just due because Rich never will.
"He was always looking out for other people," said Rob Miller, his volleyball teammate at Hanover High School where he graduated from in 2003. Rich was active in his local parish as a Eucharistic Minister, too. At UNH he was a member of the men's swim team. Friends and family described him as "a loving and caring person."
Unfortunately, Rich's story isn't a new one.
On the night of Nov. 23, Matt Lynch, 21, of Scituate was riding shotgun with his intoxicated "friend" Ryan Hughes, 20, when he lost control of his SUV and crashed into a telephone poll. The crash sent Matt hurdling through the windshield. You would think the force of the crash would bring Hughes back to a sober state.
Instead, Hughes got out of his car and checked the damage to his car. Screaming and kicking about the damage - but not his friend - Hughes woke area residents before going back in the car and leaving. Apparently, his car was more important to him than his friend because Hughes left Matt to die in the middle of the street.