October19

Rest In Peace, Carol Guess.

Tags: , , , , , | Categories: General
E-mail | Permalink | Comments (2) | Post RSSRSS comment feed

I did not know Carol Guess, I only knew "of" her -- but from what I gathered by attending her funeral, she could not have been a nicer person.  For those who don't live in the Columbus area, or get the Columbus dispatch, Carol Guess lost her life on Monday, October 13 in a terrible car accident.  Carol was my girlfriend's Aunt. 

It's sad to see that the reports in newspapers are calling this an accident.  Sure, two cars collided but the real tragedy is that it did not have to happen.   According to news sources, the driver of the Dodge Cirrus that ran into Carol's Beretta was breaking the law, in more ways than one.  Firstly, the 16 year old driver was breaking Ohio law by carring 4 other passengers.  In Ohio, if you are 16, it is illegal to carry more than one passenger who is not a direct family member.  Secondly, the driver of the Cirrus was passing a slower vehicle on a double yellow line, going up a hill.  As you can see, this is not a DUI story, it's not a story of a lapse in judgement.  It's a story of some teenagers who will truly never know the gravity of how they have affected the lives of others in a negative fashion. 

Attending the services, I almost wished that I had a video camera there.  Carol is survived by her mother and I truly believe that if the driver of the other car could have seen the devastation that comes when a parent is forced to bury their child, she may truly understand the gravity and severity of her actions.  Of course, such a video does not exist and I can only hope, for her own sake, that she grows to understand and learn from this experience.  

Unfortunately, her "lesson" comes at the expense of an innocent life.  If you are reading this post, please, internalize this.  Hold in your heart and head the reality that your actions directly influence the lives of others even in matters where you don't believe that they do.  Rest in peace, Carol Guess.

For more information, refer to the links, below:

Comments

23/03/2009 06:26 #

i don't think people who don't know the whole story should write about this ACCIDENT. and indeed this was an accident. First off,  when she went to pass she was in a passing zone, and there was a driver that was playing games, and would not let her pass, she tried to back off to get back in her lane and the driver of the other vehical slowed down too. Being part of the cause of the accident, unfortunitly the news did not report none of this and he will never be caught and will never take part in this. yes and it was very unfortuite that carol lost her life and there are also four other teens including myself that have to live with this for the rest of our lives.... there were also other mothers that had to go through the tragidy of almost loosing the lives of their children....Also we all have nightmares of this car accident and my friend and i that were able to move went to check on carol, so we were not thinking about ourselves either.... THANK YOU

unknown United States

04/04/2009 03:14 #

Unfortunately, I have no way to verify that you are actually someone who was involved. That being said, and giving you the benefit of the doubt - I feel for you. I do, however, completely and respectfully disagree with your arguments as described above.

Unfortunately, the only people who are left to talk about the accident, and what actually happened, are those who were in the wrong by the letter of the law. Let me repeat, regardless of the circumstance, in the wrong - in more ways than one, by Ohio law.

If someone was indeed toying with the driver of the cirrus and not allowing them to pass, a mature and forward-thinking driver would have slowed to a complete stop if necessary, perhaps even pulled off the road until the one "playing games" was gone. A double yellow pass on an uphill drive is illegal and dangerous whether another driver in the correct lane is "playing games" or not.

In any event, it is definately a shame that if the story goes as you say it does, the offending driver from the driving lane will most likely never be identified. It is also a shame that four teenage passengers will have nightmares for the rest of their lives due to this experience. Indeed it is also a shame that the driver will have to wonder how her life would be different if she had only not tried to pass or simply not crested that hill at the same time as Carol.

Of most relavence to me, however, is the fact that someone in my girlfriend's family lost her life due to the actions of others and I will continue to post on this topic and advocate in parallel to that which was reported in the media, and that which was recorded in the police report.

rjnedved United States