I guess OT: drunk driving

[islandgirl]

I just watched this video. Powerful. As someone who's permanantly injured because of a drunk driver, this obviously is an important issue for me.

Watch it, but please note that it's I guess...emotional.

http://link.brightcove.com/services/...ctid1125874477

Lane Garrison can't take back the drunk-driving crash that left a 17-year-old boy dead, but he's doing his best to show remorse for his actions.

The former Prison Break player has taped a public service announcement with the aim of preventing people from making the same mistake he did when he got behind the wheel while intoxicated in December 2006.

In the video, available on tmz.com, a visibly teary Garrison relates some of the deadly statistics from alcohol-related car accidents, citing the more than 500,000 people killed each year in the United States alone.

"Ask yourself if you've ever driven after having a few drinks or have gotten into a car with someone who has been drinking," the actor says. "If you answered yes, you were lucky."

Garrison's emotional message is interspersed with clips of eerily realistic footage of teens drinking heavily at a celebratory party and then piling into a car driven by an intoxicated peer.

A violent crash ensues and in the background a hysterical girl can be heard shrieking, "My boyfriend's dead!"

"Just don't drink and drive. It's not worth it. It's just not worth it. I know, because it happened to me," Garrison says.

Garrison was behind the wheel of his SUV on Dec. 2 when it jumped a curb and hit a tree, killing 17-year-old Beverly Hills High School student Vahagn Setian and injuring two 15-year-old female passengers.

The actor pleaded guilty in May to a felony charge of vehicular manslaughter, a felony charge of driving under the influence causing injury and a misdemeanor charge of providing alcohol to minors. He also acknowledged having a blood-alcohol count of over 0.15 at the time of the accident.

He is due to be sentenced Thursday and could face up to six years and eight months behind bars. The district attorney has pushed for the full sentence to be enforced, as has the Setian family.

Garrison currently remains free on $100,000 bail. He has been ordered not to drive or drink alcohol and to refrain from having any contact with victims or witnesses of the accident.

[islandgirl]

Oh for f's sake...the links are all f'd. You'll need to scroll down almost to the bottom.