Jason Hegner

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Professor St. Vincent English 1101 September 13, 2013 The Story of Finding And Using My Story On July 31st, 1997, a young man drove drunk and caused a deadly wreck. The 17-year-old driver, Jason Hegner, was the only person to survive. Jason was driving 30 miles per hour over the speed limit and collided with another car head on. Upon impact, Jason and his best friend, who had been riding with him, were ejected from the car. Due to severe head trauma, Jason’s friend died three days later. The driver of the other car wasn’t as fortunate. As Jason crossed the center line into oncoming traffic, he collided with the vehicle of a computer analyst who lived and worked in the area. One fourth of the analyst’s car was compacted into the…show more content…
The members of the commission unanimously agreed that I should be elected as one of three sub-commission chairmen. I now had the story, as well as the position, to use my road block to alter the lives of people I had never and potentially will never meet. My new title was “Nathan M. Sidey, Chairman of the GOHS GCTOD Drinking and Driving Sub-Commission.” Throughout the fall and winter we had many important conference calls, hours of research, and countless emails. The culmination of our efforts was to be finalized and presented to Georgia’s congressmen, members of the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, federal politicians, and many influential men and women that would hold the power to put our plans into action. The date was set and we all prepared to the best of our abilities for this meeting. Two weeks prior to the presentation, we received an email that was devastating. Congress was now scheduled to be in session the day of our presentation and we would no longer be able to hold the presentation at the capitol or even have the members of congress attend. We didn’t let this stop us. We kept the date but changed the location and continued with our preparation. Through connections with the Governor’s Office, we contacted many local news teams as well as some of the bigger news stations based out of…show more content…
I have never met Jason Hegner, yet he destroyed a piece of my life no one can ever return. But he also gave me countless opportunities that I would never have even begun to have a chance at. Senator John Wilkinson has spoken with me twice and made eye contact with me three times yet he has given me something the thousands of men and women I have met in my life have never been able to. He showed me his authority, pushed it to the side, and told me to do something great. When I did my best and used this support, I did as he asked. In return, he came to me and said “Well done.” For the first time I received a true man’s approval, all because a teenager decided to make a reckless decision that cost lives. These two men built my story, from chapter one to chapter seventeen. I have been able to take the event that took my dad’s life and use it to change countless lives in the future. In return, as though a message from my dad, sent through an unlikely source, I received the approval I had always

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