I gave my son some money for a drink – So What?
Adam’s Dad came home from work in a good mood as he had just been promoted.
Feeling generous, and wanting to take his wife out to dinner, he slipped 17-year-old Adam a tenner and winking, told him to “have one on me”.
Adam met up with some friends and they went to the off-licence to buy booze, which they then took to the local park. As the evening progressed they got drunk and rowdy, and wrecked the play area by spraying graffiti and smashing their bottles. Passers by wondered why someone wasn’t doing something to stop them and how they got away with this behaviour night after night.
The lads bought some hash and Es from the local dealer and then got into a fight with another group of lads who wanted the park to themselves. Deciding to make themselves scarce, all five of them piled into Adam’s car and decided to go cruising.
Boosted by drugs and alcohol, Adam decided to show off and started driving too fast. He then crashed into two pedestrians - a mother out visiting neighbours with her 13-year-old daughter.
Adam survived, but his best mate was killed and another friend is now paralysed for life.
Both the mother and daughter were killed.
Meanwhile, on the way back from their celebratory meal, Adam’s parents wondered why there was a traffic jam at that time of night.
While this is not a true story, it is based on several real events. We all know of parents who turn a blind eye to their kids having a few underage drinks, we all know people who have driven after having a few and most communities have a good idea of who is dealing drugs.
Several people could have intervened and stopped this chain of events, not just Adam’s Dad – and of course, Adam himself, but the sales assistant who sold them the booze even though they were not sure if they were old enough to buy it, the passers by who could have reported the drug dealing or the vandalism and any one of Adam’s friends who could have stopped him from getting behind the wheel of the car.
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