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Man loses sight in drunk driving crash, warns teens

Posted at 6:45 PM, Mar 10, 2017
and last updated 2017-03-10 18:45:21-05

It's a story that will really make you think twice about distracted driving and drunk driving.

Students at St. Petersburg Catholic High School got an eye opening experience Friday. They met 24-year-old Derrick Jenkins, a man who lost both of his eyes and severely damaged his brain in a motorcycle crash.

Jenkins was drunk when he slammed into a construction truck on US Highway 19 4 years ago.

Every day he wonders how different his life would be if he just made one decision: not to drive drunk.

“I ask myself that every moment of every day. Children, students, parents, teachers. Whoever can hear this message, I hope this resonates with them and I hope they ask themselves the question like I ask myself every day: is it worth it?”

Jenkins will be speaking with several Tampa Bay area high school students this spring, getting the message out to them in time for Spring Break and prom season.

Jenkins hopes his story can make a big impact on you, too.

"My one mistake cost my mother her job. It messed up my sister's freshman year of college. There isn't a moment that goes by where I don't wish I could take that one decision back."

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