By JOY SIMPSON
Special to The Citizen

At the Bradford Square office complex, on a chilly recent Monday night, victims of drunk driving shared equally chilling stories with those guilty of the crime of DUI.

The city of Fayetteville hosted a Drunk Driving Impact Panel, the first of its kind in the metropolitan Atlanta area. The panel is designed for those prosecuted for driving under the influence of alcohol.

When offenders appear in court, they are sentenced to attend the meeting, and most also pay a $25 fee upon attendance. The meeting was for those prosecuted in November. More meetings are planned quarterly.

“Right now we're just trying it out, and we hope to see an impact and results,” says Bonnie Campbell from Fayette's Victim Witness Program.

State Court Judge Fletcher Sams, who is responsible for the majority of the sentencing, opened the meeting by giving it his stamp of approval and adding that, “if all goes as well as expected,” he would like to see everyone who receives a license to drive be required to attend a Drunk Driving Impact Panel.

Then the stories began. The speakers for the evening were Barbara Gibson, Lauren Burley, Beth Blaney and George Lathom. Gibson's older sister was killed by a drunk driver at age 24, and she shared this horrifying story with the 25-30 DUI offenders present.

Next, Burley and her sister, Blaney, spoke about the death of their mother July 4, 1995, when both of their parents were in a terrible car accident caused by a drunk driver.

The final speaker for the evening, Latham was a repeat DUI offender, receiving at least three convictions in his past. When he was 27 years old he continued this cycle and this time he lost control of his car, hitting a tree and killing his best friend, Jim.

All of these stories left the room in silence. “It really makes you think about that one person that you wouldn't want to lose,” said one of the offenders following the presentation.

The Drunk Driving Impact Panel is open to the public. Heather Kotler, the victim services coordinator for MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving), suggests that parents have their teenagers come, or bring the whole family.

Each year 17,000 lives are lost due to accidents related to alcohol or drugs. Fayette County officials say they hope the new impact panels will help reduce that problem here.