A drunk driver killed my baby sister and changed my family forever

To the Editor

            My name is Lynn Marie Avery. On June 30, 1991, when I was six, my baby sister Jennifer Nichole was killed by an intoxicated driver with three previous convictions for driving under the influence in St. Mary’s County. She was one year, 16 days old and had recently undergone major cranial surgery. Your newspaper took such a strong stand for my sister and I thank you and thank you for your continuing efforts to show the horrors of what people take so casually can cause.  On June 5 of this year I turned 21 and my sister would have been 16 on the 14. After the death of my sister my family was torn apart and both of my parents were destroyed. Today I am happy to say that my Mother and I look back at the pictures of our “Nif” and are so happy of the time we did have together. On June 9, 1998 my Father and my Step-Mother welcomed my beautiful little brother Aaron Ray into the world. He will never know his big sister; my Father is not done grieving. This summer on the 15^th anniversary that my angel left, I had to explain to my eight year old brother that he had another sister, and that she was our special angel, just for him and me, and, that she had been killed in a car crash by a drunk driver. The effects of drunk driving don’t stop. At six I lost my sister and at twenty one because it still hurts my Daddy so much he does not talk about it, I found out he did not know that he had two sisters. Explaining to my little brother that he had another sister, that had lived and it was not in vain was painful but, if we do not remember her who will. When you make that decision to drink and drive your making a decision that can effect people for the rest of their lives or take their lives. It’s been 15 years and my whole family has been changed forever. Please Don’t Drink and Drive.

                                                                 Lynn Marie Avery