In January of 2000, I finally did it. I was living on the Peninsula and drove to Santa Rosa to pick up my payroll. I stopped off at a bar in Novato on the way home, as was customary at the end of most work days. Of course I over-did it; pretty much like I did everyday back then. So about 2 hours and $50 in drinks later, I headed off to SanRafael where I had lived for many years prior, to get some weed from a friend of mine.
I cruised down the 101 freeway, and took the Anderson exit. I stopped at the light, and took a left when it turned green. Mind you for all the time I lived in San Rafael, Anderson DV was a 2-lane road running parallel to 101. This was not the case when I made my left; as I noticed all to late.
They had expanded Anderson to 4 lanes, separated by a meridian about 2-feet high. So, as I turned left and shifted into second gear, I saw cars coming at me. Oh, I knew I needed to get out of the way, but the Toyota Camery I was driving that day was far to low to the ground to get over the 2-foot meridian.
Now you would think the moron coming straight at me, would have moved into the lane to his right, so as to avoid the eminent head-on collision that took place. Well I suppose I was the moron, after all, I was on his side of the road.
BANG! I lost consciousness for a few seconds, and when I woke up, like any good drunk, my first instinct was to get the hell out of dodge before the cops showed up, but first, I had to pry out my knees that were pinned beneath the dashboard. I reached for the steering wheel for some leverage, but noticed there was only a fragment of it remaining intact.
So after I freed my legs, I grabbed my phone and when to make some tracks. Oppsie, I made about 2 or 3 steps out of the car on foot, before I hit the deck. It took me a couple of seconds to get my bearings, and to get myself erect once more. I felt some pain in my stomach, and instinctively went there with my hand. When I pulled my hand away, it was soaked with blood; I knew I was in trouble.
I made it to the meridian on my second attempt at fleeing and hit the deck hard; I wasn't getting up this time. By now some people had caught up to me, and I could hear many sirens in the background. I was slipping away again. I had the presence to call my father, whom I had been living with to tell him where I was and what had happened, before the cops took my phone from me.
I wound up in the Emergency Room. It was at this point I figured out where part of the steering wheel went; into my midsection.
My dad showed up and the cops were interviewing me. The cops wanted a breathalyser or a blood sample, and this being my first (and only to this day) DUI, they needed my permission. Of course I had to be a smart-ass, and refuse the chemical test. Little did I know at that time, that by refusing, I had automatically lost my drivers license for a year, and put myself into the extended alcohol offenders DUI school.
They kept me in intensive care overnight, to be sure there was no internal bleeding, stitched up my chin, which had made contact with the steering wheel with enough force to both break it, and send me into darkness for a short time. The next day I went home.
In April of that year, I had no choice but to plead to driving under the influence. I was sentenced to $785 in fines, a few community service hours, and of course, the DUI school. Naturally I was on probation for the next 3 years, and that department would keep track of me and the DUI school.
By June of 2000, I found myself in Tennessee, and later in July in Massachusetts. I moved around a bit for the next couple of years, and of course brilliantly avoided the state of CA and my sentence.
In 2004 I was back in Santa Rosa, and it was time for me to face the music and make an appointment with the Marin courts. I got my second chance at the DUI school, and new fines to the tune of about $1100. By that time I had been released from the HCHOC and was on Mass. probation until I completed the suspended portion of my sentence there, and my probation had been transferred to Sonoma County. I was paying all kinds of fines and restitution, and had all kinds of meetings to appear at every week.
Well, it finally got to the point where I was ejected from the DUI school, for not meeting some time requirements; it was inevitable. I needed to go back to court to get another referral to get back into the program. Since I had paid very little on my fines, I was quite reluctant to meet again with the judge.
Well, here we are, closing the year of 2006. My fines paid, I made another appointment in Marin. Why is it I always get the same judge? I had seen this guy about 12 or 13 times in 25 years or so; cripes, these guys are eternal! Anyway, The judge was happy to see that things were going well for me over the past 5 years, and we made a little small-talk in the courtroom before he gave me my last chance and wished me good luck.
Today, I finally made it, on the last day of course, to the DUI class in Santa Rosa to re-enroll and transfer to the city of Citrus Heights where I now live. I had 5 classes remaining to complete the class. As the DUI agent went through all the documentation, she noticed that it had been more than 2 years between, and I should really be starting the 32+ week program from the start. Thank God I'm a normal person these days, and they gave me a break.
It cost me $60 in Santa Rosa to re-enroll and transfer, and will cost another $135 to transfer into the Citrus Heights program.
I really can't complain, and don't. This was one of the most moronic events I have ever put myself into in my life. Here I am, finally, almost 7 years later, finishing my debt to society and getting my drivers license back.
Don't ever do this. Don't drink and drive, and deal with the courts when you're supposed to. I made this much harder on myself than it needed to be, and the cost of not having my license over the past 7 years has been so costly, I cannot even begin to describe.