Friday, May 21, 2010
Source: WPRI.com
This week's Street Stories takes you to medium security at the ACI in Cranston for a different kind of program.
A program where students hear from victims of car crashes that many times kill other teens.
See how the students learn from what the inmates teach.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Source: ProJo.com
Saturday, April 03, 2010
March 26th has always been a difficult day for us. This year the emotions that come with the anniversary were eased being surrounded by like souls and caring professionals.
The Brain Injury Association of Rhode Island held their annual conference at the Crown Plaza in Warwick on that day and Lee Woodruff was the keynote speaker. Having had the pleasure of meeting Lee before, I knew those in attendance would benefit from her words.
Lee Woodruff, the spouse of ABC anchor and traumatic brain injury survivor, Bob Woodruff, knew what it was like to experience the wild rollercoaster ride of having life as you know it change in a moment. She spoke with honesty, courage, humor and hope. Suggesting to all, when the enormity of your individual situation becomes, well enormous-break it down into moments and learn to focus on those that re-charge.
It was a reunion of sorts as Tori was able to be present to meet Lee Woodruff and while in attendance, met a few old friends. Most of these friends had left the rehab center where Tori still attended long ago. These brave and beautiful men and women, young and old sought out Tori and beamed as they spoke of their admiration for my daughter. It seems all the while I felt so fortunate for Tori to be part of a group that reached out and included and accepted her, she was dolling out her own brand of therapy to all. Even in her silence Tori has a way of making everyone feel special. When those big brown eyes look at you and the corners of her mouth crinkle into a smile it sends your heart into a tailspin. Each friend shared stories of their experiences with Tori and the part she played in their rehabilitation.
Yes, March 26th is a difficult day. Every year it has been impossible to avoid going back to that place, that space and time where life took an unimaginable turn. And on each anniversary, I have found it important to reach out and to connect with those who shared that space and time with us. Gravitating one year to the firehouse to give them a picture of Tori and to thank them, because their efforts that day gave us what we still have today. Other years seeking out different police personnel to let them know the gratitude we felt for not only doing their job – but for the manner in which they did that job and their continuing unwavering support. There are some places I have not yet found the strength to visit. When leaving the PICU at Hasbro after weeks of living in the hub of the unit, I vowed we would return one day. In my mind it would be under glorious conditions such as one we experienced when a former patient, not expected to survive, walked into the unit on his own power. While that time has not yet come, I look forward with anticipation to share with them the celebration and gift of Tori. And one day, we will visit the Emergency Room staff at Kent Hospital whose early intervention kept Tori alive allowing Hasbro to continue with heroic life saving interventions.
But for this year, we were right where we needed to be. Among friends, among survivors, among dedicated professionals all with a common bond, we survived another anniversary. And this time, re-charged and ready to take on what life has in store moment by moment with honesty, courage, humor and hope.
Monday, March 29, 2010
There is a stillness that comes with the night. It settles over the house slowly advancing until it consumes you. And, with it comes reflection.
Drifting from room to room, in a blanket of silence, pillows are fluffed and lights extinguished. Each stair climbed brings closer the final task of the evening.
Amongst the quiet, at the top of the stairs and through double doors, comes a gentle mechanical hum. Its sound matches the rhythmic rise and fall, the heave and ho, inhales and exhales of the room’s occupant. Together with a pulsing digital glow from a monitor at the foot of the bed, they tell the tale of peaceful slumber.
An innocent sleep, one reminiscent of long ago days; seen when peering over the tops of cribs. In the darkness, illuminated only by a crack of light through the open door, hearts would melt when gazing upon the sight of sleeping babies. The warmth that would travel throughout your body from the swell of pride would leave you weak in the knees.
Now, no different from then, emotions rise. In the present, they are a mix of loss and gratitude. Reflection of what is and what could have or should have been.
For this sleep is so very different from that former space and place in time. It is riddled with uncertainty and underlying despair where once was hope and promise. The past so far in the distant, shadowed in the fog seems as though it was just yesterday. The present, misty with shades of grey allows the sunlight to somehow peek through. And the future forecast, clouded with unknown chances.
And yet, it is the feeling of gratitude that prevails, that sustains. It puts all else into perspective. It is what truly matters. With life there is hope and with it the promise of tomorrow.
Hold dearly your past, take comfort in the now, look forward and plan for the tomorrow and let the reflection of your love shine through all time.
Friday, May 14, 2010
Source: WPRI.com
By Darren Soens & Danielle North
CRANSTON, R.I. (WPRI) – The mother of a local drunk driving victim uses her own tragic experience to teach teens about the dangers of driving drunk.
On Friday, Cathy Andreozzi joined police and firefighters for a mock drunk driving crash outside Cranston High School West.
Andreozzi's daughter, Tori, was seriously injured in a hit and run crash caused by a drunk driver.
“I labored over the idea, 'Would people be uncomfortable knowing that I was a real victim mom?' But that's the point,” said Andreozzi. “People should be uncomfortable because that discomfort they may have felt today is nothing compared to the real pain and hurt and loss that ensues when there's an alcohol-related tragedy.”
Here is the scenario: It is a bloody scene outside the school. In the mangled wreckage of one car, a mock victim is dead on the scene.
In the other vehicle, two injured victims, one played by Eyewitness News reporter Danielle North, and the other by a high school freshman, wait for help.
“We wanted them to see it as it really happened,” says Cranston Police Chief Marco Palumbo. “The accident, how long it took for emergency personnel to arrive at the scene, the pain that the occupants suffered during that time as the fire personnel cut the roof off the car to get them out.”
And as crews worked to rescue the injured, the mock victims were covered with blankets to protect them from shattered glass.
The “victims” were then put onto stretchers, as a woman screamed in the background.
That woman was Cathy Andreozzi, who hopes her presence would help drive home the message that drunk driving is no laughing matter.
“The choices that they make dictate the moments in their life. And there are no do-overs. No do-overs.”
Cranston police are hoping the students who witnessed the reenactment will remember the chilling scene, before they head out for prom night this weekend.
Extra patrols will be on the streets, to try to ensure that this prom night is a safe one.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Source: State.RI.US
In light of this week’s tragedy in Warwick where 42-year-old Steven Barlow was not wearing a seat belt was thrown from his vehicle and killed, Rep. Douglas W. Gablinske (D-Dist. 68, Bristol, Warren) today held a news conference to discuss his legislation to require all drivers in the state to wear seat belts.
Joining Representative Gablinske were Captain Darren Delaney from the Rhode Island State Police; Michael Lewis, Director of the Rhode Island Department of Transportation; Colonel Joseph P. Moran III, President of the Rhode Island Police Chiefs Association; Beatrice Perez, Program Manager of the Injury Control Program for the Department of Health and Joee Lindbeck from Attorney General Patrick Lynch’s office.
The legislation (2010-H7085) would make the failure to wear a seat belt while operating a motor vehicle a primary offense, rather than a secondary offense. Currently, drivers in Rhode Island can only be cited for failure to wear a seat belt if they are pulled over for another offense.
“This is one of the greatest public safety issues facing our state. It seems like every week we hear a different story about someone who has been killed in a car accident because he or she wasn’t wearing a seat belt,” said Representative Gablinske. “I cannot imagine the pain and frustration that family members of the accident victims must face knowing that maybe, just maybe, if their loved one had worn a seat belt, he or she would be alive today.”
Representative Gablinske said he is aware that the minority community is concerned that his legislation will increase racial profiling by police officers, but he feels that one issue does not directly relate to the other.
“It is important to note that the prevention of racial profiling is parallel in importance to the need to adopt a primary seat belt law. I firmly believe the issues are comparable and compatible, but not linked. Neither one overshadows or overpowers the other,” he said.
Gablinske said his legislation stands to help the minority community. Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death for African Americans from birth through 14 years of age and the second leading cause of death between the ages of 15 and 24. Car crashes are also the leading cause of death for Hispanics from birth to 34 years of age. Many of these deaths occurred because the driver or passenger was not wearing a seat belt.
“With these staggering statistics, it is safe to say that the minority community desperately needs the primary seat belt law,” he continued.
The bill has the full support of the National Urban League, the ASPIRA Latino Youth Organization, the National Association of Hispanic Nurses, the National Conference of Black Mayors, the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives and Meharry Medical College.
Moreover, Rhode Island stands to receive approximately $4 million in federal funding for infrastructure and education/outreach programs to help implement the legislation, if it passes. This federal funding would be put, in part, toward ensuring that racial profiling does not occur during traffic stops within Rhode Island.
Representative Gablinske’s bill was introduced on January 12 and has been referred to the House Judiciary Committee for consideration. Sen. John J. Tassoni Jr. (D-Dist. 22, Smithfield, North Smithfield) has sponsored identical legislation in the Senate, which has been referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Monday, February 15, 2010
Source: State.RI.US
Rep. Douglas W. Gablinske, sponsor of a stiff new drunken driving law that was used for the first time this weekend in a crash that killed one Brown University student and injured another, said he is “saddened that the law had to be used at all, but pleased that the families of the victims will at least be assured some justice in the wake of this terrible tragedy.”
The new law, sponsored and championed by Representative Gablinske, now allows a police officer to request a search warrant to take a blood sample if probable cause exists to believe that an individual has been driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, after that individual has refused a to take a breathalyzer test. The law only applies to situations where drunken drivers refuse a breathalyzer test in accidents where death or serious bodily injury results.
On early Friday morning, a 23-year-old man ran over two Brown University students walking near campus, killing one and severely injuring another. The driver was suspected to be under the influence of alcohol, and Providence police used Representative Gablinske’s new law to obtain a warrant to have the suspect’s blood drawn.
“It truly breaks my heart each time I hear about another drunken driver killing or injuring an innocent person,” said Representative Gablinske (D-Dist. 68, Bristol, Warren), whose father was killed by a drugged driver 38 years ago. “This weekend’s tragedy is yet another example of why our state has desperately needed this new law. At the very least, the victims’ families in this case will have some solace in the fact that the man who committed this unthinkable crime will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law- because we’ve now given law enforcement the tools to ensure that this happens.”
For years, law enforcement officials were able to request a search warrant based on probable cause from a judge to seek the blood of a person who refused a chemical test after causing an accident that resulted in death or serious bodily injury due to alleged drunken driving. In 2000, the Rhode Island Supreme Court ruled this practice unconstitutional.
However, the United States Supreme Court has upheld the legality of this type of search for 23 years and in recent years, upheld police action to forcibly withdraw blood from a drunken driver without a warrant.
Before Representative Gablinske’s new law, Rhode Island was one of the only states in the nation in which law enforcement is denied access to the best evidence of a driver’s intoxication after they have killed or maimed someone. For 5 consecutive years, Rhode Island has led the nation with the highest percentage of alcohol related traffic deaths.
Currently, 44 states allow law enforcement officers to obtain blood results in cases where a person is killed or seriously injured.
Twenty-eight of these states allow the police to forcibly have blood drawn from suspected drunken divers involved in collisions which resulted in death or serious injury. Sixteen other states allow police to obtain a search warrant or court order to obtain blood from a drunken driver where death or serious injury resulted.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Source: rilin.state.ri.us
In light of a recent tragedy in Scituate where an alleged drunk driver who had nine previous arrests- including one for breathalyzer refusal- killed a mother of six, Rep. Douglas W. Gablinske (D-Dist. 68, Bristol, Warren) will hold a news conference to discuss his legislation to crack down on drunk drivers.
The news conference will be held tomorrow, Wednesday, April 15 at 2:30 p.m. in the House Lounge of the State House.
Representative Gablinske’s legislation (2009-H5039) would allow a police officer to request a search warrant to take a blood, breath or urine sample if probable cause exists to believe that an individual has been driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, after that individual has refused a to take a breathalyzer test.
Joining Representative Gablinske at the news conference will be Rep. Jon D. Brien (D-Dist. 50, Woonsocket), co-sponsor of the legislation; Colonel David Randall, Chief of Police for the Scituate Police Department; representatives from the Rhode Island Police Chiefs Association, the Rhode Island State Police and the Attorney General’s office; representatives from the Department of Transportation’s Office of Highway Safety, the Rhode Island Traffic Safety Coalition and Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD); and Cathy Andreozzi, the mother of a victim of a hit-and-run drunk driving accident and founder of the Tori Lynn Andreozzi Foundation.
“The issue of drunk driving is very personal to me and I won’t give up until our state does more to prevent tragedies like this from occurring over and over again,” said Representative Gablinske, whose father was killed by a drugged driver 38 years ago. “Rhode Island needs to come down on the side of the victims and their families, not the side of a defendant, who killed a mother and left her children motherless. We have ignored this growing issue for far too long, causing more innocent people to fall victim to negligent and thoughtless individuals who drink and get behind the wheel of a car in an impaired state. The time is now for our state to enact policies that will serve as deterrents to drunk drivers.”
For more information, contact:
Shana Mancinho, Publicist
State House Room 20
Providence, RI 02903
(401) 222-2457
Friday, April 03, 2009
Source: RIcentral.com
For almost a decade, the R.I. House Judiciary Committee has tabled bill H-5039 for further study.
Sunday, March 01, 2009
Source: Doc.RI.gov
The annual departmental awards ceremony was held on Thursday, February 19th, 2009 at 9 a.m. in the George C. Arnold Conference Center. This special edition of the RIDOC Review recognizes this year’s honorees.
