MADD speakers come across loud and clear

PALMER -- Three speakers from the Mat-Su Chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving delivered a powerful message about drunken driving during the Tuesday meeting of the Palmer Lions Club.

Two of the three women represented both sides of a driving under the influence crime, the offender and the victim, and the third represented MADD's role in the DUI education and rehabilitation process.

"This is a 100 percent totally preventable occurrence," said Chrissy Steele, spokeswoman for the Mat-Su MADD chapter.

MADD was founded in 1980 by a mother who lost her son to a repeat DUI offender. The first Alaska chapter, located in Anchorage, was founded three years later, but the Mat-Su chapter is still in its infancy, having been founded in 2003. The three-fold mission of the organization is to stop drunken driving, support the victims of drunken driving, and stop underage drinking. MADD also provides moral assistance during court trials of drunken drivers.

Steele noted the prominent successes of MADD up to this point, including the reduction of alcohol-related traffic death by 40 percent since its inception, but also emphasized the fact that there is a lot of work remaining to be done. MADD gives each state a "grade" every year according to how aware the state is of DUI crimes, Steele said, and last year Alaska received a D-minus.

Patty Kramer, the second speaker, talked about the loss of her son, Kenneth Kramer, and nephew, Kevin Blake, to a DUI-related crash in July 2000. The two boys were traveling along the Whittier Road to view Portage Glacier with their grandparents when they were struck and killed by a drunken driver swerving into their lane. According to Kramer, the driver, who lived in Anchorage, had reportedly been drinking that afternoon and had driven into a lake along Portage Valley Road.

According to court records, the driver, Robert E. Richardson, was towed out of the lake and told to sleep it off before driving again. Soon after, however, he drove about a mile further where he collided with the car the boys were in.

Kramer said she finds it unbelievable that the driver was allowed back on the road in such an obvious state of intoxication.

The driver involved in the boys' death survived and was sentenced to 12 years in prison.

"It was devastating to our whole family," Kramer said. "It ruined our lives."

Chrysti Brevogel, the third speaker, is a reformed DUI offender currently attempting to make amends for her crimes. Brevogel was involved in an auto collision following a party in Anchorage in 1996. She was transporting four of her friends home and ran a red light on the way, whereupon she was hit by a pickup truck. Three of her friends were thrown from her car and killed. All seven people involved in the crash that night had been drinking.

Brevogel was convicted of DUI and sentenced to 12 years in jail, but the sentence was reduced for good behavior and reduced further by her early release on certain restrictions.

"At first, I thought I was the victim, but then I realized that the other people out there are the real victims," Brevogel said. "I've looked into the eyes of people I've hurt, and it's not pretty," she added. "That's why I keep coming back and speaking about this, because I've looked there."

Steele said that parents could help prevent the spread of underage drinking and DUI in general by keeping the lines of communication with their sons and daughters open, by having a plan in place for safe parties and recreation, and by allowing their children to call home for a free ride, no questions asked, if they didn't feel themselves up to the task of driving.

Steele said the local Mat-Su chapter of MADD is always searching for new members. Currently, MADD chapters statewide comprise less than 500 members. Steele's goal is to increase local support to include at least 500 members. She said the Valley is particularly in need of DUI support with Nugen's Ranch, formerly the only detoxification facility in the area, recently losing funding for this practice.

Steele also mentioned that Valley residents could help fight DUI by supporting House Bill 274, which would cause all bars and other liquor purveyors within the state to close at the same time. Currently, Anchorage bars close at 2 a.m., and Valley bars at 5 a.m., causing many potentially intoxicated Anchorage bargoers to drive out to the Valley in early hours of the morning.

"If Mat-Su doesn't stand up and support this, it won't pass," Steele said.

Contact Daniel Spoth at daniel.spoth@frontiersman.com.