My Brother Died in a Car Crash Because of His ADHD
I am an ADHD expert, and I was my twin brother's safety net. Was there anything I could have done to prevent his fatal car accident?
2 Comments: My Brother Died in a Car Crash Because of His ADHD
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To smoore99 – My heart goes out to you, your son, and all those affected by this accident. It’s entirely understandable how ADHD symptoms contributed to the tragic situation as well as the fact that all involved were teens. It’s been 3 years now since you posted your family’s story, but I hope others have read it over the years and have been helped to understand the dangers of ADHD and driving. There are no easy answers, but I pray that your son is doing OK and getting help with his own scars from the accident. Prayers for you and the other families impacted. I hope you’re doing OK too.
My son is in jail serving a sentence for involuntary manslaughter. He was driving with two other teens in the car when his tire went off of a country road and he went down an embankment and the passenger side hit a tree killing his best friend who was not wearing her seat belt. They convicted him after the prosecutor convinced the jury that he must have been abusing his ADHD medicine. That wasn’t true, we were only giving him his meds as needed and kept them locked up for fear of one of his friends might help themselves. He had 0 alchohol in his system, no more medication then prescribed, but he did have a low level of THC. The kids admitted to smoking a joint together earlier in the evening.
Austin was diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome at the age of eight with coexisting disorders, mainly ADHD and sometimes severe OCD. We were not able to hire an good criminal attorney, I had given up my career to homeschool Austin when it was apparent he would be left behind in a traditional school. We did therapy, and as little medication with him as possible. Went to church regularly, joined the lady homeschool community for activities and socialization. Did everything we thought possible for a child that needed only to be accepted. That was hard for him, kids are not always understanding nor parents.
That fatal night, we believe that with the two girls in his SUV talking, laughing, doing what teenagers do, is the real cause of the accident. It is so easy to be distracted when you have real ADHD symptoms. It doesn’t require you to be drunk or high or careless, What can be done, I do not know. But I pray for my child everyday. It is horrible for the family that lost their child to this accident, and they are very angry. They would have given him the chair if they could have. But he would never ever have hurt anyone on purpose and certainly not his friends. What is a parent to do with this, it’s my worst nightmare come to life. Praying that this problem can come to light that others see them problems with ADHD and driving and that a solution can be found. This was not a case that should have ended up in court and certainly not murder. It was an accident, as sad as it was. Thanks for listening.