Have Become A Member of a Club No One Wants to Join

With great sorrow I have become a member of the club of people who have had friends killed by a drunken driver.
I had known Phyllis for almost 50 years (she was 4 years younger than my Mother). She taught me how to arrange flowers and was the florist for my wedding over 24 years ago. Just this past Sunday afternoon after having had brunch with my Father, she was injured in a three-car crash caused by a drunk driver who had left one of the casinos in our area (I think it was the Mohegan Sun). She was transported to a local hospital where she was med-evaced by helicopter to Hartford Hospital. Around 10:30 PM she succumbed to her injuries.
There have been a number of crashes with fatalities in our area in the past few months caused by drunken drivers leaving the casinos. Another victim was a young woman who was going to Africa on a humanitarian mission and another was a young mother. Aren't there laws that hold establishments like this just as guilty as the perpetrator? They have many security people as well as having State Troopers assigned. These people should have had their keys taken away and should have not been permitted to leave. In addition, they should have been cut-off from alcohol. Just because they are so-called "sovereign nations" does not reduce their responsibility for attempting to prevent these alcohol-related crashes.