Video: Avoid Alcohol

Alcohol contributes to many boating accidents and to about one third of all fatalities.

At 3:00 in the morning, my husband and I were awakened by a policeman and a chaplain knocking at our front door. As soon as I saw them, I knew that it was something bad. And the only question I had was, “Which child is it?”

The boat carrying Kay’s 22-year-old daughter Debbie was hit from behind as it idled on the lake. The other operator had been drinking at a lakeside bar. In news stories, Debbie Rock’s name joined a growing list of boating fatalities.

She was not just a number on the, the coroner’s report. She was a real, real person. And she had a lot to give. Bad things happen to really great people, and they don’t have to. It helps me to, to make Debbie’s death not in vain. You know, she lives on through my being able to talk about what happened to her, and she leaves a legacy of trying to tell people to be responsible and to not drink or drive any motorized vehicle.