By Kaitlin Newman
Drunk driving can take lives in more ways than one.
While death is the most extreme consequence, many victims end up in one of two prisons: one made of metal bars or one within their own body.
Last Thursday, Chris Sandy and Eric Krug came to Towson University to explain the prisons they’ve occupied most of their adults lives because of drunk driving.
During the presentation to about 100 students at Towson University’s West Village Ballroom, the two speakers told the stories of their life experiences and sad consequences of dealing with drunk driving.
Sandy talked about life after getting behind the wheel intoxicated that led to killing two people. Krug showed students what can happen if they choose to get into the car with a drunk driver – a decision he made that left him handicapped for life.
“It’s very difficult to relive this moment, but it’s important to tell you,” said Sandy, a 36-year-old who served an 8 1/2 –year jail term for killing two people while under the influence of alcohol.
Sandy’s story started just like most do. He had a few drinks and decided he was fine to drive to another party.
He said he was driving 77 miles per hour in a 35-miles-per-hour zone, hitting a car making a left turn into a driveway. He later found out that William and Nelly King died as a result of the accident.
Sandy recounted what he remembered in the aftermath of the crash. His right leg was dislocated from his hip and the pain was causing him to go in and out of consciousness.
“There’s one thing I’ll never forget,” he said. “I came out of consciousness just long enough to hear an officer say, ‘There’s a fatality on the scene.’” That’s when I thought to myself, ‘What have I done?’”
Photos of the gruesome accident on that fateful night were displayed on the projector behind Sandy as he told his story.
The King’s car was cut in half, with one half ending up 100 feet from the other half. William died in the hospital and Nelly died on impact. They were both in their 70s and the driveway they were turning into was a family member’s house they had planned on visiting that night.
“I didn’t take the time to think. I am responsible for killing two wonderful people,” Sandy said.
Sandy pleaded guilty to two counts of vehicular homicide and served 8 ½ years in a Georgia state prison. He originally received 13 years plus another 17 years probation but was released on parole in 2009.
“That decision impacted a lot of people,” Sandy said. “I watched my family divide. My parents got divorced, my mother developed depression. Look what I did. My life will never be normal again.”
During his stay in prison, Sandy met Eric Krug, 38, the presentation’s second speaker.
Krug visited Sandy in jail in 2006 after hearing his story through a mutual acquaintance of his mother’s. Krug could relate to Sandy in a way not many people in his life could. They both shared the regret of making the decision to get into a vehicle while under the influence.
Krug sat in a wheelchair on the side stage during Sandy’s part of the presentation with an iPad perched on his knee.
Krug, who was a star baseball player at Oglethorpe University in Atlanta, got into the passenger seat of a car with a drunk driver on April 11, 1997, his 21st birthday.
The driver drove the vehicle into a tree, and the accident left Krug in a coma for a year. Krug sustained a traumatic brain injury and he is no longer able to speak or walk on his own. He has short term memory loss as well as trouble recalling events. His right arm was smashed in the accident, leaving it useless to him.
“I wish I could talk to you without this iPad, but I cannot,” Krug said.
A slideshow of Krug’s life played behind him as Sandy told his story. Photos of him as a child, at a school dance, playing baseball and stealing second base blurred together.
Photos of King’s car accident showed on the screen followed by photos and video clips of Krug in a coma, foaming at the mouth, while his parents cleaned him and fluffed his pillows.
When asked what he sees when he faces the audience as his life story plays behind him, no part censored, he replied: “I see myself. I see my friends. I see you.”
Sandy and Krug venture to high schools, colleges, military bases, and other venues all over the country to give their presentation in the hopes that they will save lives.
“It took everything in my power not to cry during that,” said Towson student Chelsea Franklin, 20. “It really showed me real life consequences. It really hits hard, ya know? Seventeen years later and they’re still dealing with it every day.”
Many students went up to speak with Sandy and Krug after the presentation. Krug signed copies of his book, “Eric Krug’s Story of Deadly Decisions,” and Sandy spoke to students one-on-one about how his past decisions still impact his life.
“I’ve gotten in the car before,” said Rachel Paniccia, 18, a student at Towson. “This really made me think.”