by Mindy Bursch
Drunk driving; one man’s choice on July 29th, 2001 has led to helping thousands of students.
On July 29th, a beautiful Sunday afternoon, Aaron Cooksey and his best friend Andrea, got in his truck. Like many times before Aaron had just drunk a few beers and this driving drunk was just one more time out of hundreds.
“And I had to slam on my breaks, there was a little girl in the backseat and I had to slam on my brakes and decide if I was going left or right and jerked the wheel to the right. My truck flipped three times and wrapped around a telephone pole,” Cooksey said.
Aaron drove drunk and killed his best friend. Today, eight years later, he travels around the country to speak to young adults. Aaron spoke here at Wartburg last Tuesday evening with the Lyceum crowded with students and faculty.
Angie Mullenbach, a 3rd year student, said, “It brought new insight to my fellow teammates and that hopefully my fellow teammates will think twice before they actually drive drunk.”
Drew Shadel, also a 3rd year, said, “It was definitely a different story when you hear the story being told by the person who actually did the deed, compared to someone who had it done to them.”
Aaron Cooksey knows students will drink, but he advocates that students drop their pride and give their keys to a sober friend when going home, or going anywhere, after a drink.
Cooksey says, “It’s the next best choice, what’s the next choice, and that’s what I preach to them, it’s all about making the next best choice.”
During this homecoming week and everyday, as students take their first drink, please remember to have a sober designated driver.
According to the latest available figures, approximately 13,000 people died in alcohol impaired driving crashes. Aaron Cooksey tries to save just one person a day, for his best friend Andrea.