At

the Bradford Square office complex, on a chilly

recent Monday night, victims of drunk driving

shared equally chilling stories with those guilty

of the crime of DUI.

The

city of Fayetteville hosted a Drunk Driving

Impact Panel, the first of its kind in the

metropolitan Atlanta area. The panel is designed

for those prosecuted for driving under the

influence of alcohol.

When

offenders appear in court, they are sentenced to

attend the meeting, and most also pay a $25 fee

upon attendance. The meeting was for those

prosecuted in November. More meetings are planned

quarterly.

"Right

now we're just trying it out, and we hope to see

an impact and results," says Bonnie Campbell

from Fayette's Victim Witness Program.

State

Court Judge Fletcher Sams, who is responsible for

the majority of the sentencing, opened the

meeting by giving it his stamp of approval and

adding that, "if all goes as well as

expected," he would like to see everyone who

receives a license to drive be required to attend

a Drunk Driving Impact Panel.

Then

the stories began. The speakers for the evening

were Barbara Gibson, Lauren Burley, Beth Blaney

and George Lathom. Gibson's older sister was

killed by a drunk driver at age 24, and she

shared this horrifying story with the 25-30 DUI

offenders present.

Next,

Burley and her sister, Blaney, spoke about the

death of their mother July 4, 1995, when both of

their parents were in a terrible car accident

caused by a drunk driver.

The

final speaker for the evening, Latham was a

repeat DUI offender, receiving at least three

convictions in his past. When he was 27 years old

he continued this cycle and this time he lost

control of his car, hitting a tree and killing

his best friend, Jim.

All

of these stories left the room in silence.

"It really makes you think about that one

person that you wouldn't want to lose," said

one of the offenders following the presentation.

The

Drunk Driving Impact Panel is open to the public.

Heather Kotler, the victim services coordinator

for MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving),

suggests that parents have their teenagers come,

or bring the whole family.

Each

year 17,000 lives are lost due to accidents

related to alcohol or drugs. Fayette County

officials say they hope the new impact panels

will help reduce that problem here.

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