DRUNK DRIVING CRASH SURVIVORS THANK RYDER TRAUMA CENTER AT 20TH ANNIVERSARY KICKOFF CELEBRATION

Carlos A. Migoya, president and CEO, Jackson Health System; Dean Pascal J. Goldschmidt, M.D., University of Miami Miller School of Medicine; Katherine Fernandez Rundle, Miami-Dade State Attorney;  Janet Mondshein, executive director, Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) in Miami; Drunk driving crash survivors Brian Beaubrun and Miami Police Sgt. Luis Taborda; Helen Witty, mother of drunk driving victim Helen Marie Witty, and an advocate against drunk driving; Cindy Magnole, R.N., Injury Prevention Coordinator, Jackson Memorial Hospital

Brian Beaubrun was not expected to survive after being slammed into by a drunk driver last year while jogging in Coconut Grove. Brian, then 18, was rushed to Ryder Trauma Center, where he spent five weeks recovering. Today, he is a freshman at Miami Dade College.

Brian is just one of the countless success stories at Ryder Trauma Center, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. In two decades, Ryder has become a national and international model in trauma care. Thousands of lives have been saved at Ryder – adults and children on the brink of death after car crashes, burn injuries, gun violence and other traumatic events.

To kick off Ryder’s 20th anniversary celebration, Brian and other survivors of drunk driving crashes will return to the hospital to thank the caregivers who saved their lives. They will also share their stories in hopes of discouraging others from getting behind the wheel while under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

In 1998, Miami Police Sergeant Luis Taborda was on-duty, walking in Little Havana, when he was struck by a drunk driver. The impact caused his femur to crush into his pelvic bone – and he was told he may lose his leg. But after months at Ryder, where he underwent six surgeries, Sgt. Taborda’s leg was saved. “It’s because of Ryder that I can walk again,” said Taborda, a Miami traffic homicide investigator.

In 2000, 16-year-old Helen Marie Witty was rollerblading on a bicycle path on Old Cutler Road when she was struck and killed by a teenage drunk driver. Helen Marie died before she made it to Ryder. Her mother, Helen Witty, has become an advocate against drunk driving in honor of her daughter, who was a popular, straight-A student at Miami Palmetto Senior High.

Reporters are invited to take part in a demonstration, in which they will wear goggles that simulate the visual impairment caused by drugs or alcohol. The City of Miami Police Department’s Breath Alcohol Test (BAT) Mobile will also be on site for media tours.

May

16, 2012, 9:30 a.m.- 10:30 a.m.

Ryder Trauma Center at Jackson Memorial Hospital
(Outside front of the trauma center)
1800 N.W. 10th Avenue
Miami, FL 33136

To learn about the dangers of drunk driving.

*Media can park in the media lot outside of Ryder.