Life-Saving Lessons

Every day, unthinkable tragedies shatter the lives of many families. Now, some of those families are coming forward to share their difficult stories in hopes that what happened to them won't happen to you.

For Lisa and David, July 2, 2005, began as a perfect wedding day. More than 200 close friends and relatives gathered on the beach. Lisa's fondest memory of the day was of her nieces, 5-year-old Grace and 7-year-old Katie, dressed like princesses, throwing rocks into the Long Island Sound. Katie was also Lisa's goddaughter. "Being her godmother and her being my flower girl, it just was so special to Katie," Lisa says.

After a day full of celebration, Lisa's parents, Christopher and Denise, along with her sister, Jennifer, Jennifer's husband, Neil, and their daughters, Grace and Katie, all headed home in a limousine. "I remember looking in on the limo and seeing Kate and waving goodbye and she waved goodbye and never thought that, that was going to be that type of moment where you're seeing people for the last time," says David, the groom. "It's, I guess, a moment I see every day."

On the ride home, the limo was struck head-on by a drunk driver. Police reports indicate the driver, 24-year-old Martin Heidgen, had at least 14 drinks, and his blood alcohol level was more than three times the legal limit. Police say he was driving 70 miles an hour down the wrong side of a major highway for at least two miles before he crashed into the limousine.