Photos: Lessons from grief
The Enterprise — Michael Koff
Four high school students — Christopher Stewart, Deanna Rivers, and Matt Hardy from Shenendehowa, and Shaker student Bailey Wind — were in Stewart’s SUV on the Northway on Dec. 1, 2012, when Dennis Drue — drunk, stoned, texting, and speeding — crashed into them with his Volvo sedan. Stewart and Rivers were killed while Wind and Hardy survived but were seriously injured.
The Enterprise — Michael Koff
Karen Heggen, acting district attorney for Saratoga County, said, “We won’t let another tragedy effect a community.” Behind her is Assistant District Attorney James Davis, who prosecuted the case; Drue was sentenced to 5 to 15 years in prison.
The Enterprise — Michael Koff
“When does this stop?” asked Brian Rivers, father of Deanna, standing with his wife, Debbie.
The Enterprise — Michael Koff
“We felt that the car has a meaning,” said Michael Stewart, Christopher’s father, as he stood with his wife, Regina, before the smashed Ford Explorer was unveiled. "Personal responsibility" was the term used Monday morning throughout the Remembering Our Loved Ones event held at Ed Frank’s Beacon of Hope in Altamont where Frank teaches teens about the gruesome effects of driving drunk or drugged.
The Enterprise — Michael Koff
Shenendehowa Superintendent L. Oliver Robinson reminisced about the fine qualities Stewart and Rivers brought to their school.
The Enterprise — Michael Koff
Major Steven James of the New York State Police said drunk driving competes for attention with texting and speeding. Troopers are the ones who “deliver the bad news,” he said.