When death strikes close to home
March 31, 2011 · 0 Comments
Nearly every day, we hear warnings about the dangers that can happen when you are driving.
We are inundated with words: Beware of distracted driving, don’t speed, make sure you wear your seat belt – and so on.
I think we hear these words so often that we begin not to hear them at all – or just get used to the messages. We frequently pass them over by saying, “This couldn’t happen to me.”
Douglas Heizer
But a recent highway death has touched my family and me, and it has brought with it terrible feelings of loss. But it has also given us all a lesson in not only listening to the warnings about driving, but taking them to heart.
I have seen and felt the consequences of a traffic accident. Someone that has visited my own home and attended high school with my son is gone.
I have offered my sincere condolences to the family of 20-year-old Danyl Dubsky. He died just before 1 a.m. this past Saturday. A report from the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s office said Danyl was driving his SUV southbound in the outside lane of State Road 7 approaching Sandalfoot Boulevard when the vehicle went up onto the sidewalk and struck the traffic signal pole at the northwest corner of the intersection.
In a moment, a life was snuffed out.
I have been publisher of the Boca Raton Tribune for just over a year now, and in that time, we have had to report on a number of serious and often fatal accidents. This is the first one that has touched me so intensely.
Many thoughts have crossed my mind. I have been thinking about teenagers as they approach the age when they can get a driver’s license and go places with their friends and family. I wonder if they truly realize how dangerous driving can be. Certainly they hear enough about the hazards of the road in school and driver education classes. But do they, like me, just let the message slide away?
I look at my own children and wonder how much more hurt I would be if one of them suddenly died in a car accident. I’ve heard the word “senseless” used to describe many auto crashes. Actually, ALL traffic accidents are senseless, whether there is a specific cause or just a set of unfortunate circumstances.
We may never know what really happened to Danyl on State Road 7 about 15 minutes before 1 a.m. Police will investigate it, as is their duty. They have already issued a report which, in cold, unemotional words, tells the story of Danyl’s last moments. That is their duty as well, to put closure on another fatality on a busy West Boca Raton highway.
For the family and friends Danyl leaves behind, emotions are being poured out this week. We mourn and grieve for this young man who has been taken from us long before his time. He will not fulfill his potential. And even though we know he is in a better place, close to his God, it can’t stop us from feeling hurt and can’t prevent us from crying.
Our thoughts are with his family on this day – and will be for a long time to come. We take two lessons away with us: To hold those we love close to us and pay strict attention to the necessity for safe driving.
