Wrecked car reminder of DUI effects

Thursday, Dec. 20, 2001 | 9:54 a.m.

It's difficult not to shudder when looking at the remains of the Cadillac that carried 21-year-old Rodrick McClure and his stepfather, James Addison, on the last morning of their lives.

A deflated airbag rests on the bent steering wheel. Dark brown stains mark the upholstery. The passenger's side door is wrenched nearly in half. What's left of the window glass is scattered like glitter on what was once the dashboard.

Dec. 26 will mark the fifth anniversary of their deaths. They were killed when a drunken driver going twice the speed limit barreled through a red light.

McClure died instantly in the 4:30 a.m. collision at the intersection of Tropicana Avenue and Paradise Road. Addison, 56, died en route to University Medical Center.

"My heart aches ... I miss my baby, I miss my husband," Hester Addison said Wednesday. "That hurt will always be there. There isn't a day that goes by that I don't remember the love my husband and I had for each other, our love for my son."

The Cadillac was on display Wednesday in a parking lot outside UMC's trauma center as part of an aggressive new campaign aimed at reducing roadway fatalities caused by drivers under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

"It's terrible to look at that car," said Nevada Highway Patrol Trooper Bobby Kintzel, who is recovering from injuries sustained April 21 when he was run over by a fleeing suspect believed to be under the influence of drugs. "It makes me sad and it makes me angry."

Kintzel, flanked by co-workers from the Highway Patrol, was in a wheelchair at the event. He said he intends to walk again.

"I'm surprised that I'm talking," Kintzel said. "I'm surprised I'm not paralyzed. I'm surprised I'm still awake."

Nationwide, traffic fatalities in alcohol-related crashes jumped 4 percent from 1999 to 2000, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. Nevada was one of the few states that experienced a decrease in deaths over that period, with alcohol-related fatal crashes dropping 7 percent. Last year, 145 people died in Nevada in alcohol-related crashes. Of those killed, 88 deaths were in Clark County.

"Nevada is actually doing very well, but you can't become complacent. The number of deaths is still way too high," said Paul Snodgrass, regional representative for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. "Every day there are new drivers on the road, teenagers that haven't heard the message yet."

Nationwide there were 16,653 alcohol-related deaths, accounting for 40 percent of the total traffic fatalities for the year.

During the last legislative session lawmakers and community leaders tried to get Nevada's blood-alcohol level threshold lowered to 0.08 percent, the level set by most states. The legislation failed.

"If we could win the 0.08 fight, I'm sure the fatality rates would drop even further," Snodgrass said.

Cynthia Jay-Brennen, 38, said Wednesday was the first time she had returned to UMC's trauma center since the March 11, 2000, wreck that left her a quadriplegic and claimed her sister's life.

Clark Morse, 58, was convicted and sentenced to 28 to 92 years in prison for involuntary manslaughter and driving under the influence. His blood-alcohol level was between 0.15 and 0.18 percent, police said. A blood-alcohol level of 0.1 percent is considered under the influence in Nevada.

Morse's trial may have ended, but there's no end for the innocent people affected by his actions, Jay-Brennen said.

"If you're going to drink and drive, remember you can't take it back," said Jay-Brennen, who won a $35 million Megabucks jackpot weeks before the crash. "You can say you're sorry, but it never really goes away."