Drivers accused of DUI face victim whose life was changed forever by crash
TAMPA, Fla. - It might be difficult for Robin Powell to lift her arms and to walk, but her voice is as loud and powerful as anyone's.
On January 27, 2001, she was in a car that was hit by a drunk driver near the intersection of Dale Mabry Highway and Fletcher Avenue. Her neck snapped and she remains partially paralyzed.
"You see me walk like this, this is as fast as I'll walk the rest of my life," she said, telling her story to 200 accused drunk drivers Monday night. "I heard my son call 911 and say, 'My God, my mom has been hurt, she is not moving, please help!'"
Video inside the emergency room was captured that night by the Discovery Channel. Hearing Powell's story and watching what happened to her in the aftermath is part of Hillsborough County's DUI probation program.
Robin Powell's DUI crash injuries, featured on the Discovery Channel.
"It is definitely not going to happen again," said Ann-Marie Cheramie, who was accused by HCSO of driving under the influence early New Year's Day. "I should have made a decision to stay at my friends' house."
Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) invited FOX 13 to the presentation, which is intended to convince participants to not drink and drive ever again, especially ahead of Super Bowl Sunday.
Hillsborough County averages 12 DUIs a day, and pictures of local victims lined the walls of the auditorium in the jail building on Falkenberg Road.
Cheramie agreed to speak with FOX 13 in hopes of convincing others not to make the choice she did.
Indeed, Robin's crash happened on the Saturday of Super Bowl weekend.
She pleaded with the drivers not to make decisions that could lead someone else to live the rest of their lives in Robin's shoes, or worse.
"It gets to be too crazy," she said of Super Bowl Sunday. "I know people want to party, but they are not making the right choice."
MADD says the most important thing you can do before leaving home on Super Bowl Sunday is to have a plan to safely get home.
Robin Powell