Blog # 64: Tragedy

I have a real life tragic story that I think needs to be heard around the world. I am from a very small town of 8,000 people called Wellington, Kansas. Everyone knows everyone and this was a very close community that had a huge heart for our high school football team.
On March 7, 2009 there was a tragic car accident involving 4 people. The car accident happened on a country dirt road and the driver lost control, over corrected, hit a ditch and ejecting all four passengers. They were all drinking and driving. The only thing left of the truck that the passengers were in, was the cab. One of those passengers was a very good friend of mine and in my class all throughout school. Her name was Brayden Popplewell. She was the most life-threatening and spent a total of 25 days in a coma. Her injuries included brain damage, and lacerations on her spleen and lungs I believe. She was in the hospital for approximately 2 months and then went to rehab. The other 3 passengers lived, but were extremely lucky. The driver of the vehicle only received a broken arm and no DUI charges were pressed because of insufficient evidence.
On June 4, 2009 Brayden’s older brother, Dustin was tragically killed in a car accident. He swerved to miss a deer and rolled his truck. According to police, alcohol was involved. You think the family has been through a lot already? Think again…
On October 4, 2009 Brayden was involved in another alcohol-related car accident on another country dirt road just 7 miles away from the accident that occurred in March. This time, she wasn’t so lucky. She was pronounced dead at the scene. There were a total of 7 people in the 2 car crash and Brayden was the only fatality. The driver of the vehicle’s name is Patrick (Ryan) Burr and he is 20 years old. He was driving under the influence and failed to yield. He was then struck by another vehicle killing Brayden. Another passenger in the truck was life-watched to Wichita, Kansas. The 2 passengers in the other car were fine and sustained minor injuries.
Patrick (Ryan) Burr can face up to 14 years in prison if convicted. Fortuneatly for Burr, he only received 2 years in prison. In my opinion, that wasn’t enough because he took the life of an innocent person, Brayden. She is now dead because Burr decided to drive when he was under the influence. According to another girl in the vehicle who was the person that was life-watched to Wichita, she said that the reason why Burr failed to yield is because he was in a hurry to get home. That decision will hang on his shoulders for the rest of his life.
To make a long story short, I just basically want to get across that this innocent family lost 2 children due to drinking and driving exactly 4 months apart from each other. I think their story needs to be heard so this kind of thing doesn’t have to happen again.
When tragedies happen in our small town of Wellington, Kansas it is a huge deal. The entire town was affected by it and my heart goes out to that family for losing 2 kids due to alcohol.
Brayden will always be remembered as a beautiful young girl who used to always laugh. She had a bright future ahead of her until she made the decision to get in a vehicle of a person who was drinking. She had a lot of friends and I truly think this story needs to be heard.