The call…. "There's been an accident and Luke has been involved." The words every parent dreads to hear…. My heart sank and we rushed to the scene of Trail Road and Crew Lane. Even today, seven months later, reliving the events of February 13th 2006 still bring excruciating pain and sadness to my heart and soul. When we arrived at the scene of the accident it was dark and cold and the sight of the flashing lights of all the emergency vehicles was frightening. We were told that Luke had been taken by ambulance to Kennestone Hospital. We rushed there only to be told he was airlifted to Atlanta Medical Center. The ride into Atlanta seemed like an eternity .We rushed into the emergency room and were told Luke was in very grave condition. When we were finally able to see him, the shock of how bad he looked still haunts me. He was on a respirator; he had a hole drilled into his skull to help relieve pressure in his brain; his left femur was broken; he had a gash in his neck that was so deep it could not be repaired and would eventually require skin grafts. He had sustained a great deal of internal injuries that required many ongoing units of blood. We were devastated and shocked by the news. I had seen my son that afternoon at 3:30pm and he was a young happy vibrant teenager.. What had happened? It was like waking up from a bad dream and realizing the dream was your new reality… We were told that the next 24 hours were critical. We prayed and prayed and waited and waited. The following evening the Doctor ordered a test that would determine if any blood was going to Luke's brain… The test confirmed our worst fears… The blow from the accident had rendered him brain dead… We kept him alive in order to harvest his organs so others could live. This was a very difficult decision to make in the midst of such heart retching pain… Luke died on February 15th 2006, 4 days before his 16th birthday.

When I consider this most painful loss it puts me in utter despair because this was not a true traffic accident.. It was a choice, a very poor choice made by a young driver who didn't consider the recklessness of his actions…. That one split second choice has forever changed my life and the life of my family…. Luke paid the ultimate price for that poor choice. The driver of the vehicle, in a split second exclusively decided to take a group of boys down a 12 foot wide private lane that had a 70 foot drop off on each side….. He had driven there at least five times before and thought it would be "fun" to showoff. According to the police, he drove down Crew Lane in excess of 77 miles per hour… lost control and flew off one of the 70 foot embankments…The car spun and landed in such a way that the right rear passenger which was Luke took all of the impact of the car crashing to the ground.. This one decision caused major injuries to two of the passengers and unfortunately caused a death. There aren't enough apologies to change or repair the hurt and pain of this action. The consequences of this action are irreparable. I can't even articulate words that adequately describe the depth of pain felt in my soul. Pain caused by one person's actions have left our family heart broken. Not only is Luke gone but the hopes and dreams that we had for our precious son are gone. There is no future for him on this earth. He will never graduate from high school or college. He will never fall in love and marry. The hopes of grandchildren from his loin are gone. Every family event will be bittersweet. A family picture will never be the same. We will learn to somehow live again but we will never be the same. It is not easy to just pick up the pieces of your heart and carry on.

I have decided to share this story in the hopes of raising awareness of the importance of responsible driving. A car is a weapon. Accidents can happen even when people are doing all the right things But to knowingly do something irresponsible and cause serious injury or death is a hard burden to carry throughout life. Before acting irresponsibly a person ought to ask, "How am I going to live with myself if I cause irreparable pain through death or injury to another?" Sometimes we can't take back our actions and make something right again. Being a teenager is a carefree fun time of life, however that does not make you invincible and neither are your friends. As parents we need to really soul search and decide if our child is really mature enough to handle the responsibility of driving. Sixteen is not a magic age. Each of us arrives at emotional maturity in our own time. As parents we need to make sure that our child really understands that they are responsible for the lives of their passengers. Drivers Education must become a requirement and not an option. Lastly, we as parents need to seriously consider the type of vehicle our teen is driving. Most teenagers lack the experience or maturity to handle a high performance vehicle. Tragic things happen, my son Luke and my family our examples of this difficult reality.

Luke was born on February 19th, 1990 in Nashville Tennessee. He was the youngest of four Abbate children. He was loved and cherished as a son, brother, grandson, nephew and friend. He lived life to the fullest. He had a great sense of humor and great love for family, sports, animals and friends. He was always organizing a pickup game of football, basketball or baseball. He attended Vaughan Elementary, Lost Mountain Middle School and was a Sophomore at Harrison High School at the time of his death. . He was a member of FCA, Harrison Football and Lacrosse. Luke lettered in both sports. He attended Westridge Church. Luke had a wonderful crooked smile and the most expressive brown eyes…They were truly the mirror of his soul. He had a big heart and is deeply missed.


Sincerely,

Maryanne Abbate