> ADDITIONAL STORIES 
The Importance of Being Heard
by D. Brook Houchen and family Received February 7, 2002 This is written to express my sincerest appreciation for the advocacy services provided to my family by your organization. I never thought I would be calling you for help. But does anyone ever expect his or her life to be turned upside-down by a drunk driver? On September 14, 2001, my husband and I took the day off to be with our son, Barrett. He was undergoing surgery that day for a birth defect. All went well and we spent the evening at home, caring for him and our daughter, Blythe - not going to bed until after midnight. It seemed like we had been asleep only minutes when we were awakened by the most horrific sounds of glass breaking, a loud screeching. It sounded like a bomb had hit our house. We came flying out of bed. As I fumbled for my glasses, Brad ran down the hall yelling for me to call 911. Our daughter was screaming in absolute terror. As I heard a truck engine "revving" and more wood cracking it began to register what was happening. My husband was screaming at someone "Stop! Stop!" A drunk driver had driven straight into our living room, a mere ten feet from Blythe's bedroom. After taking a ball bat with him into the living room for protecttion from whatever was in our home, Brad came back to our bedroom and told me the man had run away. I wanted the kids out of the house and safe since my biggest concern now was there might be a fire from the truck. It was shocking to see the destruction that had occurred. A huge, red pickup truck was in the middle of my living room! Neighbors were already outside, awakened by the thunderous crash, and assisted with passing the children out through broken glass and wood. When the police arrived they found open beer bottles in the truck, a cooler containing several more beers, and a child seat in the truck. There were many pieces of the driver's identification, but because he fled the scene, there would be no way to prove he was driving drunk. We were out of our home for over four weeks with total home repair costs exceeding $20,000. The police seemed to treat our case as "a lost cause" because the man had fled. Brad and I were adamant to find this man who had endangered our family. An uncle in the insurance business in Garden City helped locate the driver through an insurance card found in the truck. The truck was insured under the father but the driver had been his son, Roberto Almeda Jr. The agent told my uncle that the father reported the son had been driving the truck and accidentally hit a tree! The driver had lied to cover his tracks. If Brad and I hadn't played "detective" and provided the information from the insurance company, I honestly believe Roberto Almeda would never have been charged with hit and run - the only possible charges since he had left the scene. On January 7, 2002, Brad and I were summoned to appear in traffic court as witnesses on this case. I contacted the DUI Victim's Center, inquiring if advocacy services were available. Arriving at court we were scared, anxious, and unsure what was going to happen but had been told Ron Wilkey would assist us. After informing the prosecutor we were present, our names were checked off on his list. We sat in the courtroom for approximately twenty minutes observing that it seemed other cases were being pleaded out, and that no witnesses or victims were being called to the bench to testify. Seeming now that I would never get the chance to confront this face-less man who had crashed through our home, Mr. Ron Wilkey arrived and everything changed. Ron took us out into the lobby and discussed what would occur. He would be talking to the prosecutor. While I was nervous and confused about the process, Ron came in and assertively set about making sure we got justice. The prosecutor now seemed to be paying attention, and we no longer feared we were going to be whisked out of the court without a chance to speak to Roberto Almeda. Ron told us that Roberto Almeda pled guilty to hit and run providing us a chance to make a statement in court to the judge. This was the most important thing - the opportunity to be heard. Ron made sure the bailiff and judge knew we wanted to speak. After four months of waiting, I would confront the man who had endangered my family and wrecked my home - telling this man about the pain he had caused, especially my 4-1/2 year old daughter! She was literally feet from the truck and continues to process and work through the terror that she experienced that night. I told Roberto Almeda that he needed to accept responsibility for what he did and make sure he never drove drunk again. At this time, the judge perked up and asked about the drinking. Apparently he did not know about this. Brad and I told him about the open bottles and showed pictures of the destruction to our home. Roberto Almeda lied to the judge and said his brakes failed, and that he was delivering something for work at 3:30 am that night. The most telling thing was that Roberto Almeda never even said he was sorry. The judge sentenced him to pay back our $500 deductible for the homeowners insurance, two days in jail and five days work release, to attend a DUI victim's panel, to attend a drug and alcohol awareness class, and to get a drug and alcohol evaluation. Brad and I stood four feet away from this man and felt like justice was happening. I will never forget the look we shared as we squeezed each other's hand when the judge ordered jail time and to address the drunk driving. The sweetest victory in this whole ordeal was that I was able to go home and tell my daughter Blythe that Mommy and Daddy had stood up to the "bad-man". This helped Blythe heal and took away the previous ache in my heart that had occurred every time I had to tell her I did not know what would happen to the "bad-man". Now, I was able to tell her truthfully that Roberto Almeda was punished for what he did. I drew a picture showing what he looked like. She then drew a picture of him (in a dress, by the way) and taped it to our picture window in the living room. She wanted to "show the neighbors what the bad man looked like". It was her chance to have some control and "punish" Roberto. I thought it was beautiful! The whole point of this long letter is this ... I cannot thank you enough for Mr. Wilkey's help in court or find words to fully describe how his involvement changed the entire process. We were now important and would be heard. I am deeply grateful, and indebted to Mr. Wilkey and to the DUI Victim Center of Kansas. Be assured I will continue to volunteer and provide whatever help I can to your organization. I included the details of our situation so that you would understand how this tragedy deeply impacted our family, and this is why I don't think I will ever be able to fully repay what Ron Wilkey and the DUI Victim Center of Kansas gave to us. But I'm going to try ... Sincerely,
D. Brook Houchen and family |
