By Patrick Cowles
Asst. News Editor
Published: November 18, 2009

By Patrick Cowles
Daily Titan Asst. News Editor

Sitting on her couch, kinesiology major Lisa Finney gazes out of her window and sighs. She could use a drink. It’s been a boring day, and she’s about to recall a harsh memory.

“I’m trying to occupy myself; I have yoga class today,” she said.

Sober, relaxed and shyly loving another chance to tell the tale of what would lead to her most horrifying experience, Finney takes a deep breath.

On Jan. 12, 2008, Finney crashed her car into a park during park hours, just short of a children’s play structure while inebriated. She was the only one injured.

That morning, Finney and her best friend prepared an 18-pack of beer to “ease the edge.” She would meet her then-boyfriend’s family for the first time at his grandmother’s birthday party, and she was nervous.

“So I finished a ton of beers and drove drunk to this party, where everyone was already drunk, so I continued to drink … and take shots with his grandmother,” Finney recalled.

After a couple of hours, Finney realized her boyfriend was nowhere to be found.

Surrounded by friendly strangers, Finney decided to find her boyfriend.

She got into her car and sped off toward his best friend’s house; his friend was also attending the party. Maybe they had gone to do something.

Upon approaching the house, Finney noticed no cars graced the driveway or curb, so she headed back toward the party.

Blowing a stop sign and dipping hard into a right turn, Finney sped her car around a corner, clipping the curb and popping her front right tire.

The impact and eruption of air propelled the car left into the park. Her car jumped a boulder, ripping most of the car’s undercarriage, before coming to a stop just short of the play structure.

“It was horrible,” Finney said.

Her purse had shattered the window, which caused her to cover her face when the air bag exploded, knocking her unconscious.

A neighborhood resident rushed to her aid. He must have heard the loud crash, Finney said. Once she was somewhat conscious, the man took her back to his house.

He offered her a place to stay and make some phone calls. Finney called her mother immediately and explained what happened.

The cops and her parents arrived on scene at the same time.

Though honest to the authorities about drinking, she was put through a series of sobriety tests.

“My parents watched me fail my sobriety tests. They gave me a breathalyzer and I blew a 0.2, which is (more than) double over the legal limit. They arrested me on the spot,” Finney said. “I spent 26 hours in a holding cell.”

While in the holding cell, “Silence of the Lambs” played on the TV in black and white on a continuous loop. When Finney arrived, the cell was vacant; but during her stay 12 other women joined her in the cell which had a maximum occupancy of 28.

She had to remain in jail until she was sober and properly identified. Unfortunately, the computer systems went down during her stay. Since her prints had to be sent to Sacramento, the system crash delayed her release.

Finney appeared in court only for her sentencing, though her lawyer returned five times in her place.
On Feb. 7, 2008, Finney began the “Right On” program, a five-step series of classes designed to teach underage drunk drivers the effects of alcohol on the brain and judgment as well as society.

It took her nine months to complete the program, the length of which is dependent on the severity of the DUI, said Finney. She had to travel, usually by train, from Orange County to Los Angeles once a week to attend the classes.

“The program was designed to teach you about the different sides of your brain and on what makes you do the things you do,” Finney said.

The class taught students to, “make you more aware of the effects drinking can have on your body,” she added.

Finney learned to take responsibility for her actions.

“It’s your fault you got a DUI, no one else’s,” Finney said. “And it’s not about the amount you drink, any amount can impair your judgment.”

After the initial classes, Finney had to complete the Hospital and Morgue Program.

This LA-based program sends people convicted of DUI to a hospital and morgue for seminars. It was during this part of the program that Finney’s mentality changed forever.

“It was an eye opener for me just how many people get DUIs,” Finney said.

Around 30 others joined her at the hospital for the one-time, four hour class that is held year-round.

But it was at the morgue that Finney went through her most horrifying experience.

Like the hospital day, the morgue day began with a seminar, but also consisted of, “Actually going to view … dead bodies … and watch autopsies,” Finney said. “Over 250 dead bodies.”

As they walked from the classroom to the morgue, a fresh corpse came in on a gurney. “She died while we were in class,” Finney said.

“There’s just tables of people getting autopsied, you know, getting cut open,” Finney recalled. “That, I will never be able to forget.”

Following the HaM program, Finney had to attend a Mothers Against Drunk Driving seminar where three speakers talked about their lost loved ones while holding pictures of the deceased.

One speaker had lost their son to a drunk driver the same day Finney was arrested for her DUI. He was her age.

“I’ll never forget that image. It made it very surreal,” Finney said. “Because that freaked me out. The fact I could have killed, or someone could have killed me that same night.”

After the seminar, her fifth and final step of the program was to write a three page paper about her experiences with HaM.

In all, she lost her license for 13 months and one day – one year after her first court date – and she ended up paying about $30,000 for the whole ordeal.

She totalled her car, had to pay a $2,200 ticket for the DUI, $500 for the five classes and $1,000 every six months for car insurance. The insurance increase will last 10 years even with the cheapest coverage and vehicle level.

Finney also had to attend 26 Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.

She was left with permanent back problems, a fear of the morgue and terrible anxiety behind the wheel.

“I’ll never be the same … mentally,” Finney said.

But the best part of her DUI story involved her ex-boyfriend, his best friend and the best friend’s father.

“While I was getting booked … I saw his best friend and father being booked into jail,” said Finney.

The friend’s truck suffered a “hood malfunction” one street over at the same time Finney crashed.

Although the driver instinctively applied the breaks, another driver backing up did not see them coming and struck them.

The father got “confrontational” with the responding police officer, leading to both father and son being arrested. Her ex was spared because there was no more room in the squad car.

“So yeah, great family event,” Finney said.

Despite the harsh realities of her DUI experience, Finney loves telling her story; hoping it will influence people to think twice before drinking and driving.

“But I’m mentally going to be fucked for the rest of my life,” said Finney.