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Letter to the editor

DUI's result serves as warning to others

The victim's mother provides the display in Largo Central Park.

By RITA FARLOW, Times Staff Writer
Published December 23, 2007

Police hope the car in which two women died will remind people not to drink and drive.
	[Rita Farlow | Times]

The mangled Mazda on display at one of Largo's busiest intersections isn't meant to give people nightmares.

But Largo police - and the mother of a young woman killed by a drunken driver - hope it will make people think twice before they get behind the wheel this holiday season.

The Largo Police Department put the car in front of the clock tower at Largo Central Park last week as a reminder not to drink and drive.

"If you're going to celebrate the holidays, make sure you have a designated driver. One poor decision can affect a lot of families, including your own lifestyle," said Largo police Sgt. George Edmiston.

The car belongs to Renee Napier, whose daughter Meagan was killed by a drunken driver in the Panhandle in 2002. Meagan's friend, Lisa Dickson, was also killed. Both women were 20-year-old sophomores at Tallahassee Community College. The driver of the vehicle that hit them, Eric Smallridge, was found guilty of two counts each of DUI manslaughter and vehicular homicide. He was sentenced to 22 years in prison.

Renee Napier speaks to students about the dangers of drunken driving and lends the car to schools and law enforcement agencies.

It's a powerful scene.

The roof is caved in and both front airbags deployed. The passenger side door sits atop the passenger's seat, pushed in to the center console. On the twisted driver's seat is a baseball cap; nearby is a black shirt on a pink hanger and one Nike shoe.

A banner above the car states: "I Drank, Drove, Killed and WE LOST!" It includes a picture of a shackled, distraught Smallridge. On the other side is a picture of Meagan Napier and Dickson, smiling.

[Last modified December 22, 2007, 21:08:27]