By: Robert Barrington, Ad Editor
On Thursday evening, September 29, 2011, placed on top of a trailer outside the Student Activities Building, was what used to be a Mazda 626. Renee Napier is the mother of Meagan Napier, who along with her best friend Lisa Jo Dickson, was killed in the Mazda by drunk driver Eric Small-ridge. Napier tows the Mazda from school to school and has made it her mission to raise awareness of the danger of driving under the influence of alcohol, and to promote forgiveness and healing.
In the boardrooms of the Student Community Center, Napier starts her presentation by showing a startling video of Smallridge just before being sentenced; he cried loudly, “I need to be punished, I‘m really sorry for the families for what I did, I caused so much pain, the only thing I can do is ask God to help me, and he has, but that is not going to bring Meagan and Lisa back, I wish I could, I wish I could give my life to bring them back to you, I don’t know how you must feel, but it has to be worse than how I feel, I don’t know what I can do, – I’m sorry.”
On May 11, 2002 at 2:30 a.m., Meagan and Lisa left the house where they had been babysitting, and were on their way home. In the adjacent lane, Smallridge had just left a bar where he had been watching a favorite band with some friends. Twenty four year old Smallridge was drinking beer, like other times, he did a self-sobriety test by standing on one leg and putting his index finger on his nose. He felt he was sober enough to drive. On his right, a white car was in a lane that was ending and cut into his lane. Smallridge quickly pulled his truck into the left lane in order to avoid a collision with the white car, but ended up hitting Lisa’s Mazda. The Mazda spun out of control and hit a tree. The impact had snapped the girls’ necks and they died instantly.
Smallridge was convicted of two counts of DUI manslaughter that carry 15 year sentences each. The judge had the choice of either sentencing Smallridge with either two concurrent sentences or two consecutive sentences; the judge chose to give him two consecutive 11 year sentences adding up to 22 years and eight years of probation. Napier said she wanted to know who the man was that killed her daughter, and what type of household he had been brought up in.
Smallridge was a university student with two semesters left before graduating, and was able to finish his degree before being sentenced. Smallridge had been brought up in a loving family. His father was a lawyer and his mother was an educator. He has two older brothers that had graduated from a university. Napier said that she had met Smallridge’s family and realized that they had brought up their children with the same loving values that she had brought up her family with; she felt their pain. Napier’s family, along with Lisa’s family, went to see the sentencing judge and asked if he could restructure Smallridge’s sentence so that he could serve them concurrently, the judge agreed.
After showing a video called “choices,” Napier approaches her guest who is escorted towards her wearing hand cuffs, leg shackles and prison fatigues. Napier hugs her guest and introduces him as Eric Smallridge. Smallridge tells his story and how his wrong choice to drink and drive had caused so much suffering for so many families. Smallridge has served 10 years of his 11 year sentence and will be released next November. Napier had asked Smallridge to team up with her and with the permission and escort from the Sherriff’s Office, the two have given 56 presentations at schools throughout Florida. The presentation ends with a sentimental photo video of Meagan, Lisa and Eric from childhood through university, while the song “The Reason” by Hoobastank plays in the background.
