I will never understand those who drink alcohol and then get behind the wheel.
If you have consumed alcohol, leave the car at home, take the bus, ask someone for a ride or take a cab. Never ever is it okay to drive a car when you have been drinking. When you do this you become a danger to yourself and those around you on the road.
I cannot imagine having to live with myself if anything should happen to another human being and I was responsible, because I chose to drive while under the influence.
Unfortunately, it happens too often and in some cases such decisions can have fatal consequences.
In June 2016, 31-year-old Jerome Zirker and his fiancee, Brittany Johnson, were involved in a collision with a woman who had been drinking.
Brittany was severely injured in the accident, but Jerome’s life could not be saved, according to CBS News .
They had been together for ten years and had five children between them.
Amanda Kosal, 25, admitted she was drunk when she struck an SUV head-on, according to NBC affiliate WDIV in Michigan.
However, during the hearing, something happened in the courtroom that caused many, especially the judge, to react with disgust.
During the hearing some of Amanda’s family, including her mother, were heard giggling and Judge Qiana Lillard acted immediately.
It was while the victim’s family read an account of how the accident had destroyed their lives that Amanda’s mother and another of Amanda’s relatives started giggling in the courtroom.
‘You can go to jail’
The judge was forced to stop the victim’s family as they read impact statements to address the man and woman involved.
“Whoever can sit here at a tragic moment like this and laugh and smile when somebody has lost a family member … in the entire time that Mr. Zirker’s sister was speaking, that clown — and that’s what I am going to call him, a clown — was sitting there smiling and laughing,” said Judge Lillard, according to CBS News.
Then she turned to Amanda’s mother, Donna.
“And you can go, too. Because if you don’t know how to act, you can go to jail. So leave.”
“I understand you all are very upset because your loved one is going to prison — but guess what? She’s going to prison for the choices that she made. These people are here grieving, saddened because a senseless act took away their loved one, and you’re sitting here acting like it’s a joke?”
“Not in Courtroom 502. Not today and not any other day.”
Judge Lillard ordered Donna to go to Wayne County Jail for 93 days.
And it seems that Donna accepted the error of her ways and appeared back in court the next day in in front of the same judge and apologized. Her sentence was reportedly reduced to one day in jail, time served.
Amanda Kosal was sentenced to 3 to 15 years in prison for the deadly drunk driving crash, reports WDIV.
The event in the courtroom was recorded and published on Facebook; watch the clip below:
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The video quickly went viral and Judge Lillard thanked the millions of people who had publicly supported her actions.
“Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to visit this page to express your feelings,” she wrote. “I am honored to have the privilege of serving the citizens of Wayne County.”
Nothing will bring Jerome back, he will forever be missed by his family and his five children will grow up without a father.
Share the article with your friends on Facebook if you also think Judge Lillard did the right thing in teaching Kosal’s family how to behave in a courtroom.
