Area high schoolers warned of DUI danger

POLSON - It’s hard to imagine a drunk driver responsible for killing two people befriending a young man who had his bright future forever altered as a passenger in a separate DUI crash.

Yet Atlanta residents Chris Sandy and Eric Krug have formed such an unlikely duo, coming together to use their tragic histories to help others avoid making the same horrible mistakes.

On Thursday, the pair teamed up to direct their message about the danger of drinking and driving to high school students throughout the Mission Valley, making stops in Polson, Ronan and St. Ignatius.

Sharing their perspectives as both a DUI offender and a DUI victim left a powerful impression that, hopefully, their young audience took to heart.

“I hope nobody has to live with that feeling on either side,” said Sandy.

Sandy told students that, back in 2000, he was a typical 22-year-old kid who enjoyed sports and fishing. But his normal life was ruined on April 11 of that year, when he killed an elderly couple in another vehicle after he’d had four drinks at a party and then recklessly chose to drive his car at speeds approaching 80 mph.

“This choice I made caused a lot of pain. Caused a lot of problems,” said Sandy, who served eight-and-a-half years in Georgia prisons. He was released in 2009, but will remain on probation until 2031.

In the wake of his bad decision, Sandy has started Enduring Regret - an organization dedicated to sharing his story at high schools, colleges, churches, and other venues all over the country. Sandy’s tale of regret is made even more powerful by contrasting it to that of Eric Krug, who shares the stage each step of the way.

Speaking with the assistance of an iPad, Krug shared details of his past as a promising college baseball player at Oglethorpe University in Atlanta. Now, however, his once-athletic frame is confined to a wheelchair and he suffers the ravages of a traumatic brain injury.

“This is my never-ending nightmare that started on my 21st birthday,” Krug says through the iPad’s robotic voice.

On that night in 1997, Krug and some friends celebrated the occasion with a night of drinking. He was about to take a taxi back to campus but was persuaded to get a ride with a teammate and his girlfriend, instead. The driver had also been drinking throughout the night and swerved into a tree as they approached the Oglethorpe dormitories.

“[Now] I have lifelong injuries because I got into the car with a drunk driver,” said Krug, who spent almost a year in a medically-induced coma following the accident.

Unfortunately, stories similar to those told by Sandy and Krug are all too common throughout the United States.

They hope that those hearing their presentation will not have to endure their pain. But they can only try to fulfill that mission by speaking - the ultimate responsibility rests with their audience.

“It’s ultimately up to you to make choices in life,” warned Sandy.

More information about Sandy and Krug’s work can be found online at enduringregret.org.