February 14, 1989 - July 14, 2007

by Teresa Lynn Cason
(Valdosta, Georgia)

Amy Danielle Cason was born on Valentine's Day 1989. She was appropriately nicknamed "Valentine" by her maternal grandfather. Appropriately named becuase she loved everybody. I am Amy's aunt. She was my only niece. She is the youngest child and only daughter of my brother.

On Saturday, July 14, 2007, Amy(18 years old) was killed when her car was struck by a car driven by a 24 year old girl with a preliminary BAC report of .07. The "drunk driver" had 2 passengers in her car - all had been drinking and apparently had just left a party. There was also an 18- bottle case of beer in their car. Beer bottles were everywhere! The vehicle wreaked of alcohol. The ironic thing is that the Georgia State Trooper's report noted the driver would be charged with DUI and open-container; however, this was not a contributing factor to the cause of the accident.

Unbelievable!

Amy was the passenger in her own car. Her boyfriend was driving. Neither one of them had any alcohol or other drugs in their systems that might impair them. (The other driver admitted that she had taken Loritab prior to the accident.) She was transported in the ambulance with Amy's boyfriend. According to him, while en route to the hospital, the other driver was throwing up with a strong odor of alcohol.

Amy was preparing to start college with my oldest daughter. She was 4 days older than my youngest daughter. We miss her more than I can say. This tragedy was so avoidable! Drunk drivers need to take responsibility and pay the price for their pre-meditated criminal acts! Law enforcement and the justice system must support and enforce the laws with a zero-tolerance mentality.