Crash victim tells of tragedy

Jessica Culbertson tells a high school audience of her struggle to recover from a crash involving a drunken driver. Culbertson's injuries were extensive, and 10 surgeries were required to facilitate her recovery. She also suffered short-term memory loss, and expects to encounter complications from those injuries throughout her life.

By Steve Moyer

Nevada Herald

A 2002 Nevada High School graduate returned to the school Tuesday to tell students of her experience as a victim of a drunk driver.

Jessica Culbertson told the audience the fateful day was no different from any other -- until the crash.

"That day I didn't feel any different than any other day, but it changed my life forever," Culbertson said. "I was driving my first car, a pink Geo Tracker. I loved that car. I know it's probably one of the ones that you make fun of but it was my first car and I loved it. I was driving around Nevada and all of a sudden it happened. I still don't remember all of what happened because of the damage I suffered."

Culbertson said that to this day she still suffers memory lapses and other residual effects of the wreck.

"I still don't have my memory completely back," she said. "The effects of drinking and driving will stay with you forever. My doctor told me I'll probably have arthritis when I'm 30 as a result of my crash."

Culbertson displayed a PowerPoint presentation showing her car after the wreck and the bruises and lacerations that she suffered. She spoke of missing out on activities with her friends as the pictures displayed.

"I remember, after this crash I was in, all my friends would be going to Anti-Van and other events and I was laying in bed recovering," Culbertson said. "I came back to school half days because that's all I had energy for. I had no short-term memory. One day I came out of the bathroom and looked around. I didn't remember where I was and after I realized, 'Oh, yeah, school.' I didn't know that next class I should be in. I had to go to the office and ask."

Culbertson's mother, Mary, was the second speaker and she added some information that was more graphic than her daughter provided.

"I'm going to tell you some things she didn't," Mary said. "She's been through 10 surgeries, the first one lasted nine hours. Her eye was out of the socket. She had crushed ribs, her lung collapsed and her lower lip was torn off. When she was laying there she came to and would pick it up and ask "What's this" and we had to tell her to leave it alone."

Mary told of receiving the phone call and the drive to the hospital. "Like she said it was like any other day," Mary said. "She wasn't gone 20 minutes when we got a call from the ambulance driver and we were told she probably wouldn't make it. We had to drive past the scene of the accident and I looked at her car and I thought 'My daughter can't live through that.'"

Mary told of her daughter's college experience. "During her first two years of college every break she had she was either in court or at the doctors," Mary said.

Sheila Howell was the third speaker. Ranea Schulze told the audience Howell didn't want to speak but had been persuaded to share her story.

"I don't want to do this but I'm doing it for my 16-year-old niece, Jessie, who died in a car crash," Howell said. "She would always buckle up but she didn't the day of the crash. The one night she didn't she was killed because of it."

Missouri Highway Patrol Sgt. Mark Harwell, supervisor for Vernon and Barton counties, was the final speaker of the assembly.

"It was hard listening to Jessie," Harwell said. "As a police officer you try to distance yourself from what happens, but I worked Jessie's crash."

Harwell emphasized that it was a conscious decision to drink and drive and the person that did so was as responsible as someone who chose to hurt others deliberately.

"Would you volunteer to do that to Jessie," Harwell asked. "When you drink and drive you make a decision that can hurt others. I don't want to ever take the chance of hurting someone or making their family suffer."