Motivational speaker Kevin Brooks spoke to George McDougall and Bert Church High School students about the perils of drinking and driving, May 9.
Brooks was 21 on Jan. 25, 2000, when he drove home drunk from a party with longtime friend Brendan Beuk. The Cloverdale, B.C., resident talked about how on the drive home, he came to a familiar intersection. A left turn would lead to another party and a right turn would lead home.
Brooks turned left.
“I think about the intersection a lot,” said Brooks. “I look back now and I see so much more. It was a crossroads in life.”
The decision proved costly. He lost control of his 1991 Chevrolet Cavalier and it struck a road divider and launched into the air before landing on its roof. He still remembers nothing of the incident.
He later learned there was only one reason he lived.
“Without that (seat) belt I would’ve been dead,” he said. “If I landed any other way than upside down, I’m told, blood and fluid would have pooled into my lungs and there would have been nothing I could have done about it. I would have drown and I would be dead.”
Brooks suffered many of injuries including paralysis from the waist down, spinal cord damage, a broken collarbone, cracked vertebrae, collapsed lungs and broken bones. He began asking questions during his rehabilitation and wondered why he couldn’t move.
“I had no clue and there’s my mom about to tell me the bad news,” said Brooks. “She said ‘Kev, I’m really sorry, you’re paralyzed.’ They were very worried that if I learned the details I would give up. I would quit fighting.”
His friend Beuk, 20, suffered severe head trauma and died in hospital.
“I’ve told this story over 1,000 times and I’ve gotten used to pretty much every detail I share,” said Brooks. “I’ve learned to crack some jokes at my expense. I have no jokes here. My buddy dies in my car cause I drive drunk and fast and take risks I didn’t need to take.”
Beuk’s parents didn’t take Brooks to court but said he still lives with the aftermath.
“What have I done to these people? I’ve ruined their lives,” said Brooks. “I live with that forever.”
A slideshow and home videos documented Brooks’ life before and after the crash.
Three empty chairs on the staged symbolized others he has lost.
“You do not have to take on this world alone,” said Brooks. “I bet every single one of you, you’re a hero to at least one (person).”
Outside the high school, hundreds of students watched as emergency services re-enacted a drunk driving scene with students from the drama department.
Principal Nancy Adams was on hand for the speeches and simulation and said students think they have a “golden halo” protecting them.
“We know that that’s not the way it works,” she said. “(Brook is) a living example of what can happen, but he’s also a story of hope. He’s overcoming, he’s not giving up.”
Grade 11 student Ashley Schwingenschlegel said this won’t stamp out drunk driving entirely, but it’s a start.
“People are still going to do it,” she said.
“This isn’t going to stop them, but I think it makes them realize a bit more about what happens.”
