Melinda Sowers' Victim Impact Statement

My name is Melinda Sowers, John, Jr.'s wife. April 7th, 2002, was my dad's 65th birthday, but unfortunately that day won't be remembered for that. It will be remembered as the day that John Sowers, my husband's Pops, the sweet man I affectionately called Senior, was killed by a drunk driver.

At 6:52 a.m. on Sunday, April 7th, 2002, I was wakened by a ringing phone. Panic immediately filled my body. I knew something was wrong. The phone was on my husband's side of the bed, so I had to wake him. I remember my exact words were, babe, the phone's ringing. It's before 7:00.

My husband answered the phone, hello, followed by a period of silence. Seemed like an eternity. And I'll never be able to forget the moment that followed for as long as I live. My beloved husband let out a blood-curdling yell that I knew could only mean one thing: His dad was dead.

I took the phone and desperately tried to console him while asking Lillian what happened. She told me that John was killed on the paper route. He had been killed in a car accident.

Couldn't even begin to understand that. My mind was racing. It just didn't make any sense. Senior was an incredibly safe driver.

My husband, despite his overwhelming grief, finally managed the question of the Florida Highway Patrol officer that seemed unimaginable: Was it a drunk driver? The answer has forever changed our lives.

We learned more and more about that tragic night over the following weeks. We learned what we already knew; that John was driving safely, below the speed limit, and in his own lane. We learned, of course, Miss Highsmith was not. We learned Miss Highsmith recklessly entered John's lane at a high rate of speed. We learned there were numerous empty beer bottles found in Miss Highsmith's car.

We learned Miss Highsmith often went out for drinking and karaoke. And we learned John did everything he could to avoid Miss Highsmith's approaching car and completely pulled off the road. It was not enough.

We learned more than we wanted to about what happened that night. But we've learned one very important thing: What happened that night was not an accident. It was a crime.

We have also heard plenty of stories about Miss Highsmith, but they have no relevance to her actions on the early morning of April 7th, 2002. Or maybe they do. We've heard about her concerns for her children, but was she concerned about her children's welfare while she was out drinking at 2:00 a.m.? We've heard about her attending church, but was she planning on attending church that morning after being out all night drinking? We have heard about her multiple physical and emotional injuries, but we must try to remember those injuries were the result of her own negligent actions. I realize Miss Highsmith is not a cruel, heartless person. I truly believe Miss Highsmith deeply regrets her actions and grieves for the overwhelming pain she has caused John Sowers' family. I also believe, for the most part, Miss Highsmith's various expressions of sympathy are genuine and sincere.

But I still feel incarceration must be included in Miss Highsmith's sentence due to the severe nature of her crime that killed John Sowers.

I know in my heart that Senior would probably not share my zeal for wanting Miss Highsmith to pay a high price for her criminal actions. You see, he didn't think he was all that significant in this big world. He didn't think he mattered very much. But he was wrong. And he probably mattered even more to me because of how much he meant to my husband. I cannot possibly put into words the feeling my husband has for his dad. It's truly special. My mom reminded me just the other day how I always told her how I feared the day when Senior was gone, because I knew how truly devastated my husband would be without his dad.

The day came far too soon. It didn't have to. The weekend after Senior was killed, Lillian, my husband, and I were going through Senior's office, the place where my husband says he can always imagine his dad, because he spent so much time there. We were looking for personal effects, anything to arouse more fond memories of him. I came across a tape recorder and pressed play.

We were pleasantly surprised to find it was Senior's voice. It was a tape of instructions and directions that John had made for my husband who had, just weeks before, ran his paper route for him so his dad could take a week off.

We carefully listened to his voice, clinging to each word. The tape came to what my husband thought was the end when, surprisingly, Senior's gentle voice returned for one final message to his now grieving son; said, "Thanks, Son. I love you."

I respectfully ask you today to remember Senior's fate while you are deciding Miss Highsmith's fate.

Thank you.

This site is voluntarily setup, maintained and paid for by Kelley D. Highsmith as a small token of her sincere remorse for her decision to drink and drive on April 7th 2002.

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