With the holiday season already in full swing, I wanted to share this attached article about my mama with you. Please read it, take it to heart, and when you are out at those holiday parties think twice before you get behind the wheel of your car. Help make sure that what my mama is going through is not for nothing....be safe in her honor, to respect me as your friend, and to protect yourself and life as you know it! One person can make a difference, that one time you don't risk it...you might be saving a wonderful person from despair....like my mama! God Bless you all! (above: Happy picture of my mother before her accident.)
Crash
How one car accident can ruin so much more
With her daughter's college graduation just a month away, Vicki Boyles' life seemed perfect. She had a job that she loved, living independently with a new car. At 46 years old her world seemed complete.
After volunteering her time at a public TV auction with some co-workers from The Examiner, she said goodbye to her friends and headed home. At 1 a.m. the streets were empty as Boyles took her usual route home.
On the other side of town Steven Duve, who had just broken up with his girlfriend the night before, had spent the evening partying away his sorrows. According to Duve's recorded deposition acquired by The Examiner, at 1 a.m. he was looking for a place to spend the night. The two would cross paths that night, only for a fraction of a second, but long enough to change Boyles' life forever.
The police report states that Duve's pickup was going 74 mph when it slammed into the back of Boyles' car as she was waiting for the light to turn green at U.S. 24 and Noland Road in Independence. Looking at the stoplight is the last thing Boyles remembers of April 23, 2004.
"Even though I can't remember the day," Boyles said, "I'll never forget the date."
The impact sent Boyles' car into a spin as it flipped across the intersection with Duve's truck landing on top of it.
Submitted PhotoThis is Vicki Boyles' accident scene, April 23, 2004. At right is the rear of Boyles' car. At left is the front of the pickup over on its driver side door.
When the paramedics arrived they found Boyles unresponsive with one leg up on the dashboard, her body twisted between the seats and her head on the passenger floorboard full of blood. Duve walked away with only a scratch but, according to the police report, was taken to detention because of an outstanding warrant for careless driving.
The first diagnosis was that Boyles had a back fracture and a brain hemorrhage. They left her cracked skull open so that the fluid would drain out to reduce the swelling.
"When I got out of intensive care I remember telling the neurosurgeon thanks for everything. He said that most head injuries like I received end up in a coma-like state and that he's just the instrument, through God's hands, that saved me," Boyles said.
After being released from the hospital Boyles, who could not drive and was living in constant excruciating pain from her back injuries, moved in with a friend.
Paul Beaver/The Examiner
Vicki Boyles of Independence holds her stack of medical records that she has collected after her April 23, 2004,accident. Her room is filled with angels and the large stuffed bear 'Snowflake' that she keeps for her daughter.
The first diagnosis was that Boyles had a back fracture and a brain hemorrhage. They left her cracked skull open so that the fluid would drain out to reduce the swelling.
"When I got out of intensive care I remember telling the neurosurgeon thanks for everything. He said that most head injuries like I received end up in a coma-like state and that he's just the instrument, through God's hands, that saved me," Boyles said.
After being released from the hospital Boyles, who could not drive and was living in constant excruciating pain from her back injuries, moved in with a friend.
Paul Beaver/The ExaminerVicki Boyles of Independence holds her stack of medical records that she has collected after her April 23, 2004,accident. Her room is filled with angels and the large stuffed bear 'Snowflake' that she keeps for her daughter.
"My life has changed. I can't do what I did before, but I thank God for good friends," Boyles said, especially referring to Bill Brackenberry, who opened his house and heart to a friend in need.
"The impact basically cracked her back like a whip." Brackenberry said "It's damaged all the way up and down to a certain extent. She'll spend the rest of her life trying to recover."
After MRIs, epidurals and surgeries it was determined that nothing else can be done for the injuries she sustained on her back. Pain pills are now her constant companion.
The head injury affected her short-term memory, speech and balance.
"I have two large file folders to keep all of my paperwork in from the doctors, speech therapist and surgeries," Boyles said. "Plus, I have a daily to-do list because if I don't write it down when I think about it, I'll forget."
Although the fault of the crash was clearly Duve's, he did not have insurance at the time, and thus Boyles' insurance was responsible for all of her medical issues. Eventually, worries about her injuries became entangled with financial problems as she lost her job when her family medical leave benefits ran out. The medical field has determined that she is unable to work, although Social Security has denied her benefits. She lives on long-term disability that basically just covers her medical bills.
Paul Beaver/The Examiner
Vicki Boyles is frustrated after getting copies of the public driving record of the man that hit her and learning that because mistakes were made by various people on her case the man had charges reduced against him in the April 23, 2004, accident.
Duve, according to police records, was charged with a DUI and careless driving. He was also charged with a city charge of possession of marijuana and paraphanalia. He plea bargained down to possession of controlled substance and received two years on probation. His license was revoked for one year, and he attended drug and alcohol classes and is subject to random urine tests.
Traci Stansell, assistant Jackson County prosecutor, said often plea agreements, such as this one, come from having to consider the evidence and opportunity to prosecute with a harsher penalty. "The guilty plea concluded the criminal matter," she said. Duve was contacted by The Examiner for this story but declined comment.
"The impact basically cracked her back like a whip." Brackenberry said "It's damaged all the way up and down to a certain extent. She'll spend the rest of her life trying to recover."
After MRIs, epidurals and surgeries it was determined that nothing else can be done for the injuries she sustained on her back. Pain pills are now her constant companion.
The head injury affected her short-term memory, speech and balance.
"I have two large file folders to keep all of my paperwork in from the doctors, speech therapist and surgeries," Boyles said. "Plus, I have a daily to-do list because if I don't write it down when I think about it, I'll forget."
Although the fault of the crash was clearly Duve's, he did not have insurance at the time, and thus Boyles' insurance was responsible for all of her medical issues. Eventually, worries about her injuries became entangled with financial problems as she lost her job when her family medical leave benefits ran out. The medical field has determined that she is unable to work, although Social Security has denied her benefits. She lives on long-term disability that basically just covers her medical bills.
Paul Beaver/The ExaminerVicki Boyles is frustrated after getting copies of the public driving record of the man that hit her and learning that because mistakes were made by various people on her case the man had charges reduced against him in the April 23, 2004, accident.
Duve, according to police records, was charged with a DUI and careless driving. He was also charged with a city charge of possession of marijuana and paraphanalia. He plea bargained down to possession of controlled substance and received two years on probation. His license was revoked for one year, and he attended drug and alcohol classes and is subject to random urine tests.
Traci Stansell, assistant Jackson County prosecutor, said often plea agreements, such as this one, come from having to consider the evidence and opportunity to prosecute with a harsher penalty. "The guilty plea concluded the criminal matter," she said. Duve was contacted by The Examiner for this story but declined comment.
Boyles didn't get the chance to come face to face with Duve, as the court didn't notify her of the date of his hearing, nor did it provide her with a victim's advocate.
"Sometimes, I just want him to have a face with the person he hit," Boyles said. egan Carter, victim service coordinator for the Prosecutor's Office, said advocates' priority cases are murder, sex crimes and domestic violence. Their job is making sure victim's rights are not violated, acting as a liaison between the police departments and department of corrections and accompanying the victim to the courtroom.
Paul Beaver/The ExaminerVicki Boyles asks direction on what to do next from Avis Lowe, Cass-Heartland MADD chapter victim advocate, at a November chapter meeting in Grandview, Mo.But because Duve pleaded early in the process, an advocate was never assigned.
"Sometimes I feel like the system failed me," Boyles said. "It's not about the money, and I'm not being vindictive, I just want it to sink into him what he did so he doesn't do it again."
Boyles' biggest concern now is how to pay for medical treatment. "Very soon my COBRA (insurance for those who become ineligible to be part of a group insurance through the loss of a job) availability will be over, I'm not sure what I'll do then," Boyles said.
As time progresses, more problems appear from the injuries sustained more than a year ago. Most recently she underwent eye surgery to realign her eyes, which were jarred so hard it affected her vision.
Boyles' time is now spent taking medication as she deals with the pain of not only her injuries but of what she has lost - her independence, her job, her health and most importantly her peace of mind.
"I feel bad that my daughter has to explain to people when I slur my speech or weave when I walk that I'm not drunk - I'm impaired," Boyles says with tear glistened eyes.
Examiner reporter Robert Hite contributed to this story.
Paul Beaver/The ExaminerStanding at the counter of the Jackson County Courthouse Records office Vicki Boyles cries as she realizes that because people various people working on her April 23, 2004, traffic accident made mistakes the driver that hit her had some charges dropped and she was not notified of his court dates. She cries because she has been significantly effected by her injuries and the other driver is walking free.
