This page was very difficult for me to add, but as Dustin and Tiffany's
Mom, I do so want this message to get out to all kids and adults. YES, IT CAN HAPPEN TO YOU! My son was a very
smart, young man and was an awesome son and person, but on the early morning of Sept 27, 2007 he made one bad choice that
affected his life and all those that love him. The reason I say "CHOICE" is because at 18 Dustin told me "mom you taught me
right from wrong and taught me what not to do, using yourself as a bad example. I do understand that, but I am older
and make my own choices and has nothing to do with what you did or did not teach me". And as most kids he also thought it
would never happen to him. So Please! Please! Let Dustin's life and death make a difference in each and every one of your
lives and think before making that BAD CHOICE!
This
was sent to me by a young woman 27 years old and met Dustin at 14. I asked if I could share this on this page of my
site so maybe the younger people will GET IT coming from her instead of Dustin's Mother. She has been so much support to me
and for her age really has it together. So use her as a GREAT example. You can change your life and you can change the
life of others.
. I love what you have done with the site
and if you getting the message out about alcohol saves just one life you know you and Dustin have made a diffrence :). It
was funny I was looking again last night for those pictures and came across some poems I had written back in Junior High and
one was about drinking and driving....I have always thankfully thought about that and been against it. I now
don't drink at all but the little that I did in highschool I made sure I was where I was ganna be if not then I didn't
drink...Then when I decided drinking was dumb I started being the designated driver then when Josh realized
he didn't need to drink to have a good time so now we are what most people our age call "BORING" but you know what I would
rather be boring then risk takeing my life or someone elses due to a bad choice. I have so many friends that drink and
drive or drink and ride and it scares me and I wish they wouldn't do it but you know the sad thing is most people have
that "IT CAN'T HAPPEN TO ME" attitude or "MY HOUSE IS JUST AROUND THE CORNER" but what they don't realize is "IT
CAN AND WILL HAPPEN" People push the limit every day and don't ever think about the consequences.....Maybe someone reading
the site and seeing the outcome of something you think of as no big deal being a life changeing HUGE DEAL will think next
time they decide to have a couple of drinks and drive or ride they will stop a second and think about "WHAT CAN HAPPEN".
Remember: never get into a car with another driver who has been drinking.
Call someone for a ride or walk. You are putting yourself at risk along with others. And if anyway possible do not allow
one that is drinking start that car!
A TRUE FRIEND WILL NOT LET A FRIEND RIDE OR DRIVE WHEN ALCOHOL IS INVOLVED
IN ANYWAY!
NO ONE is OUT OF THE REACH of it happening to them! Do you think Dustin knew when
he got in that car he would never see another day here on earth! That he would no longer be seen or touched or heard by his
family and friends?
LET THIS BE A WAKE UP CALL TO EVERYONE!!!!!!
LAKESIDE, Calif. -- A suspected drunken driving crash sent a car careening off an East County freeway and plunging into
a residential back yard Thursday, killing one passenger, injuring another and leaving the driver under arrest.
According to witnesses, the accident occurred as the speeding driver of a 2000 Ford Taurus tried to pass slower traffic
on westbound Interstate 8 in the Lakeview area shortly after midnight, the California Highway Patrol reported.
The driver, 27-year-old David Rhodes of San Diego, steered onto a dirt center median near Lake Jennings and then lost
control of the vehicle, which skidded across several lanes and struck a BMW sedan before veering off the freeway, CHP public
affairs Officer Brian Pennings said.
The Taurus overturned and rolled down a bank into a yard on El Dorado Parkway, Pennings said. Rhodes and his two companions,
none of whom was restrained, were ejected as the car tumbled down the slope.
One passenger, 25-year-old Dustin Rawls of Katy, Texas, died at the scene.
The other, a 20-year-old San Diego man, was taken to Sharp Memorial Hospital along with Rhodes for treatment of moderately
serious cuts, bruises, abrasions and other injuries.
Upon his release from medical care, Rhodes is expected to be booked on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter and driving
while intoxicated, Pennings said.
Did You Know? Alcohol-related highway crashes are the leading cause of death
for adolescents and young adults in the United States. - The U.S. Department of Transportation
Do not wait until tomorrow to improve the person you are. Do not wait until
tomorrow to change the things you can change. Do not wait until tomorrow to help that one person that needs help. Do
not wait until tomorrow to tell that person you love them. TODAY may be the only day you have left and yes it can happen
to any one of us! So make this day count! Patti Rawls
Today I choose to see myself as renewed by God's grace.
Today I will seek ways to change my reckless ways ... to allow myself to feel loved.
Today I will see the positive potential in the lives of the people around me.
Today I choose to be an encouragement to others in their renewal.
To Cry Author Unknown
Don't cry because I left. Cry because I laughed. Don't cry because I died. Cry
because I was once alive. You only get one chance, And I lost mine in one fatal crash. Don't let friends drink and
drive, Because sooner or later they will die.
IT DOESN'T
PAY TO DRINK AND RIDE EITHER. IT IS JUST AS DEADLY.
Close to the door he paused to stand, As he took his class ring off her hand. All
who were watching did not speak, As a silent tear ran down his cheek. And through his mind the memories ran, Of the
moments they walked and laughed in the sand, But now her eyes were so terrible cold, For he would never again have her
to hold. They watched in silence as he bent near, And whispered the words..."I LOVE YOU" in her ear. He touched her
face and started to cry, As he put on his ring and wanted to die. And just then the wind began to blow, As they lowered
her casket into the snow. This is what happens to man alive, When friends let friends drink and drive.
Author Unknown Submitted by SueC
If you know someone who tries to drown
their sorrows, you might tell them sorrows know how to swim. ~Quoted in P.S. I Love You, compiled by H. Jackson Brown,
Jr.
**************
What's drinking? A mere pause from
thinking! ~George Gordon, Lord Byron,
******************
First you take a drink, then the drink takes a drink, then the
drink takes you. ~Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald
The Lord has promised to prepare A place in heaven above— A home where we will always
be With Him and those we love. —Sper
Because Christ lives, death is not tragedy but triumph.
Dustin Marshall Rawls September 2, 1982 - September 27, 2007 Dustin
Lives on Through All The Many People that had the honor to know him! I love you my Son!
God Blessed Me So giving you as MY SON!
Dustin loved and was loved by so many, he touched so many lives while
here on earth and gave the gift of life to many more being a organ donor.
Please sign the guestbook but also email me pictures and stories of your life
with Dustin for us all to share.. Each and every one will be posted and appreciated. Help me keep this site alive as
Dustin is in all of our hearts.
