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Why We Walk

WHY WE WALK

Tabitha Clark 

Home City: Springfield, MO

Crash Anniversary: December 5, 2015

18-year-old Tabitha Clark was going to college to become a veterinarian and, was also the top female junior bowler in her area with a high game of 300. She loved to fish, hunt and enjoyed the outdoors. She was fun, full of life and knew exactly what she wanted for her future.

On December 5, 2015, all of that changed.

Tabitha, on her way home from a night of bowling with friends, was broadsided by an F-150 truck that ran a flashing red light. Sitting in the front passenger seat of her own car, she took the full force of the impact and her little Ford Focus was thrown across an intersection, dropping several feet down into a concrete drainage ditch, landing on its side. The driver of the F-150 was drunk with a BAC of .152, nearly twice the legal limit. When first responders finally realized where her car went, she was struggling to breathe but was alive and the other two occupants of her car sustained injuries as well.

Her mother, Yvonne Clark says that her daughter being alive after all of that is a miracle, but this isn't always the case in drunk driving crashes.

“I got a call at about 1:45 am and was told that Tabitha had been in an accident and that I needed to get to the hospital,” said Clark. “So much was going through my mind. Was she going to be okay? How bad was this? I was thinking maybe a broken arm or something like that, but I really wasn’t thinking straight.” When she and her two other daughters finally arrived at the hospital Tabitha was cut up still, they hadn’t cleaned her and she had blood all over her face and clothes. It was a very traumatic thing to see for a mother. Tabitha had sustained internal injuries and needed to go into immediate surgery for a ruptured spleen and bladder. She also suffered multiple fractures and a traumatic brain injury and Yvonne was told her daughter may never wake up. Tabitha’s other sisters broke down and Yvonne remembered thinking, “I have to be strong for them,” which is easier said than done.

As Tabitha’s family sat in the surgery waiting room, they learned more about the 22-year-old man who hit her. They were told that he was charged with a DWI and was taken into custody but that he also bonded out that same night while they were praying for Tabitha’s survival. He went home, uninjured, while Tabitha fought for her life. Not knowing if she would wake up the family struggled with their anger towards the driver who caused so much anguish by making the choice to drive drunk but that soon was replaced with worry for Tabitha.

After surgery, in the ICU, Tabitha started to come to for brief moments but would just stare and not respond. Despite this, her family did not give up hope and Yvonne remembered that when her daughters were little, she would give them the “I love you” sign in sign language and they would return it. On the 27th day of hospitalization and treatment Yvonne was getting ready to leave and told Tabitha, “I love you. I’ll see you in the morning” and Tabitha slowly raised her hand to indicate this back to her mother. This is when she knew things would improve. 

It has been 7 years since the crash that changed everything for Tabitha and her family, she survived and continues to be a fighter. Her injuries continue to cause other issues for her and while her recovery will be ongoing for the foreseeable future her story is one of perseverance and shows the damaging consequences drunk drivers place on their innocent victims. Tabitha’s offender was sentenced to 5 years in prison and was released early for “good behavior”. Tabitha’s sentence will continue and it is her goal to educate as many people as possible about the dangers of drunk driving. She is not willing to be just another statistic in the ongoing battle against drunk driving. She wants to be the reason people make better choices and plan a safe ride home after drinking. No one should have to endure the pain Tabitha has had to suffer and it is her goal to see to it that there really are No More Victims. Please join her in this mission.