Emilee Evans remembers the day in December 2012 when she canceled dinner plans with one of her closest friends to cram for a final. She didn’t know she would never see her friend again.
Emilee Evans (left) and Meagan Rough in a photo appearing on Evans’ Facebook page.
Meagan “May” Rough, 19, died Dec. 7, 2012, from injuries following a car crash caused by Jason Chad White, 19, who was found to have been driving drunk. When Evans heard the news, she did not fully understand what had happened.
“I was so upset and panicked and began calling her,” Evans said. “I had no idea I would never be able to hear my best friend’s voice again.”
Meagan Rough’s death is hardly an isolated case. A March 2015 article in Men’s Health magazine identified Lubbock as the No. 1 city nationally in DUI deaths and No. 8 in the publication’s overall ranking of “America’s Drunkest Cities.”
Evans said the tragic accident that killed Meagan Rough illustrates the consequences of even a single poor choice to drink and drive.
Texas is the leading state in the nation in fatalities involving drinking and driving, with a total of 1,337 deaths in 2013 alone, according to the Texas Department of Transportation. This number decreased to 1,041 in 2014.
The DOT did not respond to an open records request for more detailed demographics of charged and convicted drunken drivers. However, statistics show DUI drivers represented the majority of the 2014 crash fatalities in the state.
State data confirm Lubbock is high in DUI-related crashes and fatalities compared to other metropolitan areas. According to statistics from the Texas DOT website, in 2014 Lubbock ranked second only to San Antonio in rate of DUI-related crashes per capita in the state.
The crash that killed Meagan Rough happened about midnight on Dec. 6, 2012, on Glenna Goodacre Boulevard near the Texas Tech University campus. Rough was ejected from the car in which she was riding as a passenger, despite having her seat belt on.
Trace Tomlin, who was riding in White’s pickup at the time of the crash, said he and White had been drinking beer and Four Lokos before the accident. A Four Loko is a malt-liquor-based drink with at least 12 percent alcohol content.
White began speeding when he turned onto Glenna Goodacre Boulevard, Tomlin said. He recalled the speedometer reaching up to 80 mph before the crash. The speed limit on Glenna Goodacre Boulevard is 30 mph.
White’s blood alcohol level at the time of the accident was .2 percent, which is two and a half times the legal limit, reported Texas Department of Public Safety forensic scientist Jim Thomas.
According to the state data, the most DUI-related fatalities (21.7 percent) in 2013 occurred among young adults between the ages of 21 and 25. Twenty-somethings made up around 34 percent of all state alcohol-related crash fatalities in 2014. The under-21 group, however, routinely places among the most DUI-fatality-prone age groups.
Meagan’s father, Kevin Rough, recalled his thoughts immediately after receiving the call that his daughter had been in an accident.
“This is my role to solve this as a father, to take charge, so I can correct it and make it right,” he said. “Once we got to Lubbock and the hospital, I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t make it right. I couldn’t fix it.”
Kari Rough, Meagan’s mother, said learning about the accident and feeling its emotional repercussions have been surreal experiences.
“Whenever the reality of it all really sets in, that’s when the anger comes in and makes it tough to have any kind of sympathy or leniency in your heart for anybody who does something like that,” Kari Rough said.
Lubbock Police case investigator Cpl. Emilio Hernandez said White asked if he would be released in time to take his final exams and did not inquire about Meagan’s condition after the accident.
On April 30, White was sentenced to 15 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to intoxication manslaughter. Some of his family members broke out in tears as he was handcuffed and escorted out of the building.
Kari Rough said her family felt that justice had been served, although they still pray for the White family.
“This is probably the hardest part for them,” Kari Rough said. “Unfortunately, we’ve got a lifetime of it without May, but they’ve got a tough road ahead of them, I’m quite sure.”
She also expressed hope White would learn from his mistake and never drive drunk again.
A close friend to Meagan’s mother, Evans described Kari Rough as the strongest woman she knows—one who wants to prevent future drunken driving and have an impact on other people’s lives.
“You can sit down in a storm and let it destroy you, or you can move forward,” Kari Rough said.
Shannon Cavasos, the Lubbock County Courthouse administrative coordinator, said most DUI cases are resolved without a formal trial.
Photo by Allison Terry
It is often not until someone is critically injured that the true costs of drunken driving are paid, Evans said. Statistically speaking, offenders will drive drunk as many as 80 times before they are caught, according to the website of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD).
The recent Men’s Health article about the drunkest cities in the country gives Lubbock a failing grade and ranks it 42nd nationally in terms of harsh DUI laws and 12th in DUI arrests.
But there are several initiatives aimed t changing Lubbock’s grim DUI statistics.
Texas Tech and the city of Lubbock offer services such as Uber and CityBus, which make it possible to avoid driving while intoxicated. Even walking is a better option than potentially endangering your life or lives of other people, Evans said.
Lubbock is also home to organizations such as MADD, whose mission is to fight drunken driving and prevent underage drinking. The national nonprofit provides assistance to victims of drunken driving through free services, including emotional support, legal education and resource referrals.
Amanda Eldredge, a victims service specialist for MADD in Lubbock, said she sees many college students who come in seeking community service opportunities after receiving an alcohol violation.
“We help victims once they’ve been affected by a drunk driving crash,” Eldredge said. “When we see college students, it’s usually because they are here for court-ordered community service.”
Kappa Alpha Theta, Rough’s sorority, has also been active in raising awareness about drunk driving. The group created an annual marathon called the “Mayday5k Glow,” proceeds from which go to Rough’s memorial foundation. After the first MayDay5k in 2013, Emily Lipinsky, another member of Kappa Alpha Theta and friend of Meagan Rough, founded an organization called Raiders Against Drunk Driving (RADD).
RADD ‘s goal is to educate Tech students on the dangers of drunk driving and show how easy it is to avoid getting behind the wheel after consuming alcohol, Lipinsky said.
She added: “I did not want another Red Raider going through what we went through.”
About Lorelei Day
