On May 18th, 2000 at 2:23 p.m. with Adam's last breath, our lives changed forever!

Adam was to come home the next day for Sarah's (his sister) college graduation. Instead we got the visit that is every parent's nightmare. We received a visit from our minister and the local town patrolman letting us know Adam had been killed in a single car accident in Minneapolis. That was the beginning of our nightmare.

That afternoon Adam had gotten into a car driven by David Bingeman after they had finished classes at the two year technical college they both attended. David had driven that road for the last 2 years and knew the speed limit was 35 miles per hour with' a stop sign not very far away. Yet he chose to go 75 miles per hour.

As he put on the brakes to stop for the stop sign, he lost control of the car he was driving, It swerved around and Adam's body hit a 3 foot diameter support pole at 40 miles per hour. Killing him instantly. There was no chance for Adam to survive at all. David's stupidity and carelessness for life took any of our chances away to help Adam.

Adam was to have graduated from Dunwoody Institute with an associate degree in auto collision in just 3 weeks and was planning to move back to his hometown. Adam would be living in his own place and working for us in our family business and at a local body shop. He couldn't wait to get back to the small town and be only blocks from us. His friends at Dunwoody liked the way he was kind to everyone and always had a smile and a wave from his purple Ford Ranger that he drove. Adam had dreams and goals for himself. We also had dreams of our future with Adam. David, with one reckless decision, had destroyed not only Adam's life but our lives and that of his sister. The enormous affect of Adam's death was felt by his family, friends, classmates, teachers and anyone else that had the opportunity to meet Adam during his short 20 years of life. We now have to live with our memories and try to make a life without Adam. All because one person decided to be reckless and use speeding as a high.

As you read this, don't for a minute, think that this can't happen to you, your friends, or your parents. If you choose to use speeding as your 'high" it could be you or your friends in Adam's place. It could be your parents getting the call saying that you were killed because one of your acquaintances decided to go beyond the speed limit and drive recklessly. Or it could be you having to look into your best friend's parent's eyes and see the pain, emptiness, and sorrow that we now feel.

Don't destroy your life and the lives of others by killing an innocent person by using your vehicle as. a weapon through speeding and reckless driving.