INC NEWS - Fw: [NPNA] Accident on Club Blvd.

[Ken Gasch]

Cheryl,

This is a problem in every community that has a large Latino population.  Latinos are a fun loving group.  The males of the group also strive to be "macho" which is, after all, a Latin word.  These two characteristics, combine to produce a Latin male who loves to get drunk but is too damn macho to admit that he is too drunk to drive.  

I lost 2 dear friends in Collage to a DWI related car crash.  Both friends were Mexican.  Even though it has been almost 10 years, I still miss them.  They left Lubbock late one evening after a party to drive home to El Paso.  The driver passed out at the wheel.  His blazer flipped over three times before it came to a stop.  Both boys were killed.  One was 19 and the other was 23.

The Spanish radio station plays commercials all the time warning of the consequences of driving while intoxicated.  It is a very long public service message.  It plays for about one minute.  While I cannot understand every word, it is well written and hammers the facts over and over again.

I am also looking for discussion on this topic.  My church probably has more Latinos than any other in Durham.  If we wanted to all sit down and brain storm, I could get a hand full of Latin folks to participate.  I could help with translation.  

Theirs is a wonderful and loving culture and we are lucky that our Latin community is growing so rapidly in NC.  

Ken Gasch


----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Mike - Hotmail 
  To: inc-list at durhaminc.org 
  Sent: Monday, October 24, 2005 1:49 PM
  Subject: INC NEWS - Fw: [NPNA] Accident on Club Blvd.


  I plan on contacting Phil Loziuk today about what appears to be a repeating tragedy on Club Boulevard.  From the intersection of Farthing and Club, all the way down to the overpass by the school, people are just driving way too fast.  In the case of the incident Friday night, these fellows had to be going really fast to have hit one tree, plowed through over 100 feet of liriope bed and then slammed into another tree so hard that the dent in the car was over a foot deep.  The passengers head went through the windshield and since the Forensics unit was called in to take detailed pictures and the way they removed his body, I don't think the second fellow lived.

  Every ethnic group has members that drive drunk, however the last four serious accidents I can think of on Club were all caused by Latino males who had had way to much to drink and were driving way too fast.  There has got to be a way to send a clear message to our new neighbors about how dangerous this combination is.   It broke my heart to see this young man pulled from the wreckage.  I was talking with a neighbor and she remarked that these young men who are new here probably aren't used to living in an urban environment as well as not being familiar with the laws that govern the manner in which they should drive.  I don't know if El Centro Hispano is addressing this issue or not but clearly someone needs to and needs to do it soon.  I have commented in the past to my husband that attention should probably be brought to this problem but I didn't have a solution in mind and so didn't act on my concern.  

  I read in the paper today how judges and the district attorney are discussing whether charges will hold up against an individual if their rights can not be read in a language that they understand.  The article talked about two incidents where charges were dropped by the judge.  In one case the blood alcohol level was three times what it should be.  There are a lot of facets to this problem.  I noticed  a sign in Spanish at the DMV that stated alcohol and driving don't mix.  One sign at a drivers license office isn't solving the problem.

  Northgate Park has a number of long straight streets that encourage speeding as well as the bad section of Club that I'm renaming Deadman's Curve.  Since Northgate Park has a high percentage of Latino residents, I wonder if perhaps we might start a discussion about how to reach out to these new members of our neighborhood.  I know that we have several bi-lingual residents who might be willing to help us start the communication process.   If our neighborhood is experiencing this problem, surely others are also and could benefit from our efforts.

  I'll pass on to all what my conversation with Phil Loziuk produces.  In the meantime any dialogue would be appreciated.

  Cheryl Shiflett


  -----Original Message-----
  From: Dan Singer <des at cs.duke.edu>
  To: NPNA at yahoogroups.com
  Sent: Sat, 22 Oct 2005 12:02:41 -0400 (EDT)
  Subject: [NPNA] Accident on Club Blvd.


  I saw a lot of emergency vehicles on Club on the way home last night,
  I think around 11pm.  I guess it was this:

    http://www.wral.com/news/5149951/detail.html

  Cheryl and Mike live at that corner (Club and Acadia).  Any additional
  news?  I know there's been some discussion of trying to do something
  there to warn traffic to slow...

  It's a curve, and the road is going a little bit downhill at that
  point.  Maybe just better street lighting at that curve, so people can
  see the road better?

  Another thought is to bank the road a little there so that even if
  someone is travelling too fast, they'd be less likely to slide off the
  road.  But that's a lot of expense, so I doubt it would ever happen.

  Flashing lights and road bumps are annoying to the people who live
  right there...




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