Editorial: The damage of DUI, a gift of forgiveness

DuPage County Judge Blanche Hill Fawell called it a “most amazing gift.”

Stephanie Schamne said it helped her “focus on the healing of my broken spirit.”

The question now is what will Fabian Higgins do with that gift.

As the person who pleaded guilty to causing the drunken driving crash that killed Schamne’s sister Christina, Higgins now has three years in prison to reflect on the forgiveness that Stephanie Schamne offered him. It’s a gift that not many would confer. We comment on it here because of its unique potential to sway others from doing the kind of damage Higgins did.

And we believe that he may have the capacity to change — just as we believe others can alter the destructive course they may be on before they harm themselves and others.

During his time in jail since the Nov. 15, 2010, crash, Higgins has been attending Alcoholics Anonymous sessions, 12-step meetings and Bible study classes.

“I want to change my life,” he said at his sentencing Monday.

The life he once led resulted in him being legally drunk and behind the wheel of a Ford Mustang just after midnight when it crossed the centerline on a Hanover Park road and crashed head-on into another vehicle. Killed was 23-year-old Christina Schamne of Hanover Park, who was a passenger in Higgins’ car.

“You chose to get behind the wheel while under the influence of alcohol. You chose to put your life in danger. You chose to put the life of Christina, as well as others, in danger,” said Stephanie Schamne, before offering her forgiveness.

“My irresponsibility hurt a lot of people. I wish on that night I never had a drink and got behind the wheel ... ,” Higgins, 29, of Buffalo Grove said in court.

Unfortunately, far too many people still make that decision every day. According to the latest statistics from the Illinois secretary of state’s office, 436 people were killed in alcohol-related crashes in 2010, which was 47 percent of the 927 total crash fatalities. There were 41,900 DUI arrests recorded by the secretary of state’s office that year. And 85 percent of those arrested on charges of DUI are first-time offenders.

The average profile? A male (77 percent of those arrested are male); 34 years old (59 percent are under age 35); arrested between 11 p.m. and 4 a.m. on a weekend; and caught driving with a blood-alcohol count of .16 — twice the illegal limit.

Do you see yourself in those statistics? If you do and you feel you are immune from the harm that you could cause, don’t rest well thinking you’d get the kind of gift Higgins received. And remember, he still has to live with the fact that he killed a woman he claims to have loved. Could you live with that? Why would you want to risk it? Don’t drink and drive.