Tragedy On Area Roadways

That  14-year old boy struck and killed by a drunk driver last Thursday is being buried today.  Death is a fact of life.  People are born.  People die.  But when you hear about such unnecessary deaths I always ask why.   A 23-year old guy drinks six beers in a local tavern, gets in his SUV and snuffs out the life of a boy riding his bicycle.

We'll never know what Bryce Buchholz could have brought to the world.  He was killed in an instant.  One moment he was riding his bike with a friend and in another moment he was gone.

And how about the driver of the SUV that killed him?  Witnesses say he was driving an estimated 70 miles an hour down a residential street, struck the boy and kept going.  He's charged with DWI and vehicular manslaughter.  The lawyer for Michael Ettipio while arguing for reduced bail said he's a great kid, is a life-long resident of Lancaster and has never been in trouble before.

That's a tragedy too.  One stupid choice and his life is changed forever.   And so are the lives of his family and the victim.  What choice do the courts have?  They have to make an example of him because this whole drunk driving and leaving the scene of an accident thing is getting worse.

We've been following the case of Dr. James Corasanti, charged with DWI in the death of an Amherst teenager last year.  And then there was that case in the City of Tonawanda where two teens were struck by a driver who sped off.  Where does it end?

I'm so sad for the families of all of the people involved.  Did you ever wonder if it could happen to you?  Think about it.