According to Mothers Against Drunk Driving, in 2016, nearly 10,500 people died in drunk driving accidents nationwide. This corresponds to one person every 50 minutes. With these statistics in mind, Matt Rasnic was one very lucky man on September 8th.

It was a rainy Saturday when Matt was walking back home after being out with some friends. He was standing at the crosswalk by Collins walking towards the stadium when the ‘walk’ sign flashed. Matt began walking across street when he noticed a car coming toward him. Just like anyone else would, he assumed they would stop since they had a red light and didn’t think much about it. The next thing he remembered he woke up in a hospital room at 12:30 a.m.

The hospital called Matt’s out-of-town mother who, in turn, called Matt’s friend from high school who goes to IU. She asked her to go check in on him and update her. This was not Matt’s mom’s first experience with her kids being victims of drunk driving. Matt’s older brother was also involved in a car crash when he was hit by a drunk driver as a teenager. Luckily he was not injured in any way. Matt said that event really opened his eyes and made him wonder, ‘Why would anyone want to do that?’

Lieutenant Kevin Lauerman with the IU Police Department said he wonders that same thing. He spoke of all the different options students have for getting around in Bloomington including Uber, Lyft and even the IU bus system. He said he knows from personal experience how many Ubers there are in Bloomington, given that he takes them often. Uber drivers will even come down from Indianapolis to get more business. He also said the consequences of driving drunk are extreme.

Due to the fact that this is an ongoing case, Matt was not able to discuss details with me.