Sean Golden, Washington, D.C.

Permanently Injured in an 18-wheeler crash that also killed his fiance.

RESULTS OF THE 18-WHEELER'S ACTIONS:
PEOPLE DEAD: Josephine Barnes, aged 29 years; Varnetta Johnson, aged 7 years
Seriously injured: Agatha Momo, 22 years old
Gravely injured, physically and vocationally impaired: Sean Golden, 34 years old

Another vehicle that underwent incredible damage

On July 3rd, 2002, my fiance, Tykeshia Slay, and I were on our way to a family reunion in South Carolina. We were driving my Nissan Pathfinder along I-20. It was at night. Suddenly, car lights appeared out of no where. They were coming straight at us. A car hit us head-on.

I woke up in a hospital. Tykeshia never did. She was killed instantly. She was only 23 years old. One minute we were cruising down the highway talking about our future together. The next she was... just gone.

Later, I found out that the car that hit us had been rear-ended by an 18-wheeler and was sent hurling across the median directly into our car. Not only was my Tykeshia killed, but two people in that car died too, including a seven-year-old girl.

The driver of the 18-wheeler apparently had fallen asleep at the wheel. Not only that, but this particular driver had been cited at least 11 times previously for driving offenses, and had even had his drivers' license suspended. But he was still on the road.

It has taken me years to get my life back. And of course, I never will get it fully back. I couldn't walk for more than a year. I couldn't return to my job as a telecommunications lineman because of my injuries. I'll never have Tykeshia back.

All it takes is a moment for a reckless truck to take many, many lives.

My life was shattered in an instant by a driver who should not have been on the road in the first place. If there had been a way for citizens to report him, he might not have been there. All I can do is beg people to get involved before they, too, become innocent victims.