My sister,Jodi, only 21, was driving home at 7pm after getting a haircut. Putsis, in a large 4 door Cadillac, struck Jodi, in a 2 door ford escort, head-on at the intersection of Route 112 & Grove Street in Port Jefferson Station June 1, 1989. Jodi was in a coma and died 22 days later in Stony Brook University Hospital. Carolyn Putsis, convicted of second-degree manslaughter, was denied parole multiple times before eventually being released with five year's parole after serving 10 year's in Albion State Prison.
Jodi was like a mother to me, she would spend countless hours playing with me, feeding me, taking me out to play after she got home from work. Jodi wasn't just a sister to me, she was my best friend as well. Jodi was a hard working, loving young woman who had a passion to be a daycare teacher for children.
Unfortunately for everyone (Jodi, our parent's, myself, our two brothers, & anyone else who knew Jodi), her dreams came to a screeching, bloody halt on June 1st, 1989, the evening that changed all of our lives. I am the baby of the family, Jodi was 21 years old and I was 6. I am now 31, outliving my older sister by 10 years. You read that right, but it should never have been like that.
Jodi now can only look down from above and shine upon her parent's, brothers, and now her 2 niece's, nephew, and unborn niece or nephew. Jodi should be here to love and play with them like she did me and my brothers. You see, Jodi worked for Caldor in Coram (now Home Depot). I remember it like yesterday, Jodi would come home from work, put me in the car and it was back to Caldor we went, just so I could go on the merry go round in the vestibule of the store. This was just one example of the bond we had. I can go on and on forever, but am limited by space. Jodi wasn't just my sister and best friend, but a sister and best friend to our two brothers as well.
Many years ago, I teamed up with my mom to speak to convicted drunk driver's who had been sentenced to probation & ordered to attend a MADD victim impact panel (these offenders were not involved in any DWI motor vehicle CRASHES. We don't call DWI involved collisions an accident because we believe the drunk driver made a choice to drive in these conditions and therefore it was a crash. An accident means no crime involved, such as a slip and fall is an accident, whereas shooting someone is not an accident, neither is drunk driving.
At these "Victim impact panel's", we would address our "story" to these offenders (often 40-50 of them in an auditorium), and they had to listen to surviving victims and victims families speaking and reliving the horrific tragedy we live with as a result of the poor decision others just like them made, which was to drive drunk. At the conclusion of the panel, the offenders were asked to make a donation to MADD, and had the opportunity to speak with the "speakers" as were called, except were not hired to speak a story, we tell the story we live. Upon conclusion, due to how young I was, I was often told by many offenders I made the biggest impact in their life and gave them "chills down their spine" by detailing how I was affected.
Another event I have been involved with is WALK like MADD, which is a walkathon currently held on the grounds of Farmingdale State University College. This is a memorial walk which passes through the "Garden of awareness", which includes benches and a wall with engraved bricks with names of victims who have been killed by drunk drivers. For more information on this and other things MADD is involved in, visit our website: http://www.madd.org/local-offices/ny/ We'd love for you to join and support our efforts. As parents, we're all concerned about our children making destructive decisions.
Please think twice before drinking, have a safe plan on how you will get home after you have been drinking, be the bigger, smarter person and give up the key's, but NOT to the person who consumed the LEAST amount of alcohol, rather the person who DIDN'T consume ANY alcohol. Why risk your life, or anyone else's life on the road? Think about how many innocent children are affected by their parent's or care giver being hurt or killed by a drunk driver, or they were in the car with a drunk driver but luckily enough were stopped by the police before they were potentially injured or killed.
Please, let's all work together to put an end to drunk driving, and remember, buzzed or impaired driving IS DRUNK DRIVING.
In Loving memory of Jodi Sue Cohen, 12/14/67 - 6/23/89
Thank you and be safe out there.
Benjamin Cohen
