I graduated from High School, just barely, at loose ends and a bit depressed. I lived at home with my Mom and started a job. I wanted to join the Service, but failed the drug test. I had started smoking pot, in 11th grade and about 6 months after graduation started using cocaine.

My mom was worried about me, but didn't know what to do. One of my sisters lived at home with her 3-year-old child, so there wasn't much privacy. I spent a lot of time away from home with friends partying. One day I decided to make a change and applied for school at Dunwoody for auto repair. Before I started school, I had stopped smoking pot and using cocaine. I even, changed friends so I wouldn't do drugs. But I was still depressed.

Now my problem was speeding. Driving fast gave me, a good feeling. While attending school, I was also doing a lot of motor work on my car, a Toyota Supra. One day Adam, a fellow student I attended school with wanted to ride in my car. I was supposed to be going to work, but I was proud of my fast car and decided to show off to him first. We left school, going very fast. I lost control right by school and we crashed into a freeway support. He wasn't wearing his seat belt and was killed on impact. I knew he was dead, even if he wasn't bloody. I was hurt badly, but got out of the car. I don't remember much about the crash to this day.

It hit me hard at first that I had killed someone by speeding. I wasn't drunk. I was only speeding. I learned all through school not to drink and drive. But speeding wasn't considered offensive. Society says a drunk driver is a bad person, but doesn't label you a sleazy person if you speed. I even got two more speeding tickets while waiting to go to court for killing Adam.

I think I was still looking for the high from speeding, so I didn't have to think about what I had done. I had killed someone. I quit school immediately, three weeks before graduation. I will never go back. I was sentenced to jail, but my case was not considered a felony, as I was not on drugs. I lost my license for seven months.

I got off way to easy. I know I should have spent more time in jail. Society has to change its' views on speeding. Even my family let me off too easy. They were too supportive. I wish someone in my family would have yelled and told me I had really f... up. Only the Judge got after me. I feel tremendous quilt with regard to Adam's family and still have not spoken or written to them. I know I have to do something, Working with Minnesotans for Safe Driving is my first step. I'm sorry about killing Adam and how I have hurt his family.

If my story gets one person to stop speeding, maybe I will forgive myself a little.

David Bingman