My son, Tony Durham, was killed in a car accident in July 2004 - the summer between his junior and senior year at St. Pius X Catholic School. Tony was coming home on the evening of July 21 from a date with a girl who was very special to him. They had spent the evening celebrating her birthday with friends.

As he entered the intersection at Lawrenceville Highway and Rockbridge Road, the light turned yellow. A driver traveling the opposite direction on Lawrenceville Highway took an immediate left at the intersection in front of him. The other driver, a young man in his mid-twenties, appeared to be trying to beat the light, a witeness told the police.

Both drivers were clean and the other driver ultimately pled to reckless driving. He spent three months in jail, followed by time on probation.

Tony was unconscious at the scene and died at the hospital three hours late, in the early hours of July 22.

Tony was a good driver. But even when you are a good driver, bad things sometimes happen.

My message to you is this: I want each of you to be safe on the road and I want each of you to do your part in ensuring the safety of those you tavel along the road with.

I wish the driver who caused Tony's death had slowed down and sat through that light. Taking a few more moments to sit through a light is a small price to pay to avoid some very serious consequences.

Be careful out there. You don't want to cause the type of pain our family has been through to another family. And, no one wants to see more wonderful teenagers added to this book.