醉酒駕車，離你有多遠？

曾幾何時，開著小車兜風逛街被視為富豪們才有的享受。如今，擁有一輛自家小轎車已經不是什么難于登天的事。但隨著私家車越來越普及，問題也接踵而來，這其中最嚴重的就是醉酒駕車問題了。前不久鬧得沸沸揚揚的“奔馳撞人”、“保時捷撞人”事件大家應該還記憶猶新，在關心事件進程的時候我們是否也應該反省一下，我們的公共交通安全意識是否足夠?醉酒駕車，到底離我們有多遠?

Drunk driving kills more than 13，000 Americans a year—that’s one every 39 minutes. Authorities call it an 1)epidemic. They say that despite all the publicity， all the education campaigns， and all the advertising over the past decade， the number of drunk-driving 2)fatalities has not gone down.

Some 3)prosecutors have started taking a different approach to the problem， getting so tough on drunk drivers who kill people that the penalties they 4)exact were unheard of in the past. One of these pioneers is Kathleen Rice， 5)district attorney of Nassau County in New York. She believes that if you want to stop drunk driving， you have to treat it as a serious crime with serious jail time. Our story begins， however， not in a courtroom but at a wedding in Nassau County—a wedding and the tragic loss of a 7-year-old girl.

Her name was Katie. She was adored by family and friends. She was to them， a 7-year-old fairy princess with 7 teeth missing.

Katie on a video: I lost 7. This is my eighth.

Man on a video: That’s the eighth one that’s gonna go? Let me see.

She and her little sister—the Flynn girls—were flower girls at their aunt’s wedding on July 1， 2005. It was a 6)glorious day for the Flynn family， including Katie’s parents Jennifer and Neil.

Jennifer: It’s like yesterday to us.

Neil: It was a great day. It was a beautiful wedding. It was a fun time all day long and it couldn’t have turned out worse.

The family had hired a 7)limo to take them home from the wedding so they could dance and party with no worries. But as they were being driven home on a parkway on Long Island， a pickup truck came 8)barreling straight at them in the wrong direction. Chris and Denise Tangney， Katie’s grandparents， saw the truck coming from the back of the limo.

Denise: I saw this light come towards me. And I had to think for a second of what that was， ’cause that， it was just out of place. I watched this single light come toward me and all of a sudden it went from a single light to a double light. It happened so quickly I remember saying， “Oh my God， we’re gonna get hit.”

They got hit with incredible force. Both cars were totally destroyed， but that was the least of it. Stanley Rabinowitz， the limo driver， was killed instantly. The limousine was so mangled that members of the Flynn family had to be cut out of the

9)wreckage. Virtually everyone suffered severe， life-threatening injuries， and then there was Katie.

Neil: The first thing I heard was my wife screaming， “Neil， Katie’s dead.” And I kept saying， “No she can’t be dead. She’s just gotta be hurt real bad.” But I didn’t know what Jen was looking at， what Jen saw.

Jennifer: I reached for Kate and she was on the floor. And all that was left of Kate Marie was her head…that I was able to take.

Martin Heidgen， a 24-year-old insurance salesman， was driving the pickup truck. He suffered minor injuries. He had a blood alcohol content over three times the legal limit. On the night of the Flynns’ wedding， Heidgen was drinking at a friend’s party in a house on Long Island. His friends told him not to drive. He did anyway， for about three miles the wrong way on the parkway before 10)slamming into the Flynns’ limousine and tearing their lives apart.

Jennifer: The sadness and despair that is with me every day， I can’t even put into words.

Neil: I relive the crash. I think about it every day. I have nightmares about it every night. And I live my life without my daughter because of it.

Kathleen Rice: One of the 11)compelling things about this case is that it really ripped the mask off drunk driving.

Kathleen Rice is the district attorney who prosecuted the case.

Kathleen on a TV Promotion: As a career prosecutor， I know that tough penalties for drunk driving save lives.

Getting tough on drunk drivers has been the centerpiece of her platform since she was elected in 2005. This case showed why.

Kathleen: A 7-year-old girl is 12)beheaded. The driver of the car is crushed to death. I think too many people think about drunk driving crashes， or accidents as people like to call them， as， you know， driving off the road. Or rolling through a red light. These crimes are incredibly violent.

Katie Flynn’s funeral attracted more than 1，000 people. Her death， along with that of Stanley Rabinowitz， became rallying points for the campaign to crack down on drunk driving.

Martin Heidgen was arrested and charged not with 13)manslaughter—meaning accidental killing， as is 14)customary in drunk driving fatalities—but with the more severe charge of murder. That hardly ever happens in America.

Reporter: Why did Heidgen fit as a murder case?

Kathleen: The 15)statute under which he was charged required us to prove that through his actions， he had a completely 16)depraved indifference to human life.

Heidgen was charged with murder by depraved indifference， she says， because he acted so 17)recklessly others were likely to die.

Kathleen: His actions made the deaths of Katie Flynn and Stanley Rabinowitz 18)inevitable. It was as inevitable as taking a gun and firing it at an individual who’s standing five feet away from you.

Reporter: You really believe that.

Kathleen: I do believe that. I do.

每一年，大概有13000個美國人死于醉酒駕車事故——平均每39分鐘一人。專家把它稱為一種瘟疫。他們說盡管在過去十年間，醉酒駕車更加透明化，酒后駕車的教育、宣傳廣告也進行得如火如荼，但醉酒駕車事故的數量并沒有下降。

有些檢察官對這個問題開始采取其他措施，他們嚴懲那些因醉酒駕駛而致人死亡的人，處罰力度之強在過去聞所未聞。這其中的一個先鋒人物就是凱思林·賴斯，紐約州納蘇縣的一名檢察官。她認為，要想阻止醉酒駕車行為的發生，就應該把它定義為一項嚴重罪行，處以長時間監禁。然而，我們要講的故事開始的地方，不是在法庭，而是在納蘇縣的一個婚禮上——一對新人的結合和一個7歲小女孩離開人間的悲劇。

她的名字叫凱蒂，深受家人和朋友的寵愛。對于他們來說，她就是掉了7顆乳牙的7歲童話公主。

錄像中的凱蒂:我已經掉了7顆牙了。這是我的第8顆。

錄像中的男人:這快要掉下來的是第8顆了嗎?讓我看看。

她和她妹妹——弗林家的兩個小公主——在2005年7月1日舉行的她們阿姨的婚禮上擔任花童。對包括凱蒂的父母詹妮弗和尼爾在內的弗林一家來說，這本是美好的一天。

詹妮弗:對我們來說，事情就好像昨天發生的一樣。

尼爾:那真的是美好的一天，婚禮相當美好。一整天都充滿歡樂，沒有比這一天更好的了。

弗林一家租了一輛豪華轎車將他們從婚禮接回家，這樣他們就可以沒有后顧之憂，整天跳舞和狂歡。然而，就在他們乘車前往位于長島的家的途中，一輛小型載貨卡車逆向行駛徑直撞向他們。凱蒂的外祖父母，克里斯·唐尼和丹尼斯·唐尼，在后座目睹了貨車撞向豪華轎車的一幕。

丹尼斯:我看到有一束光射向我，我反應了好一會兒，在想那是什么，因為它的位置相當奇怪。我看著這一束光，突然它從一束變成兩束。事情發生得太快了，我只記得我當時喊了聲:“哦，天啊，我們要被撞上了?！?/p>

一股強大的力量朝他們撞來。兩輛車都毀不成形，但那還是損失最小的。豪華轎車司機斯坦利·拉比諾維茨當場死亡。而車子則幾近粉碎，必須破開車子殘骸才能把弗林一家解救出來。實際上，每個人都遭受了極其嚴重、甚至有生命危險的創傷，再之后就是凱蒂了。

尼爾:我聽到的第一個聲音就是我妻子的尖叫:“尼爾，凱蒂死了?！倍也煌５卣f:“不，她不會死的，她只是受了很重的傷而已?！钡也⒉恢勒伯敃r看到的情景是怎么樣的。

詹妮弗:我朝著凱特靠過去，她就躺在地上。而她身上唯一完整的地方、我能拿得到的地方……就是她的頭。

24歲的保險推銷員馬丁·海德根當時正駕駛這輛載貨卡車，受了一些輕傷。他接受了血液酒精濃度測試，結果超過了合法標準指數的3倍。在弗林一家參加婚禮的當天晚上，海德根在位于長島的朋友家中參加派對并喝了酒。他的朋友告誡他不要開車，但他還是開了。在撞上弗林家的豪華轎車、把他們的人生弄得支離破碎之前，他已經逆向行駛了整整3公里。

詹妮弗:我每天所承受的悲傷和絕望，無法用言語表達。

尼爾:我腦中會回放整個車禍過程，每天都想著它，每天晚上都做與它有關的噩夢。而我因為這場車禍，失去了我的女兒。

凱思林:這宗案件引起大家關注的其中一個原因，就是它揭開了醉酒駕車的面紗。

凱思林·賴斯恰好就是這個案子的檢控官。

電視宣傳片中的凱思林:作為一名職業檢控官，我明白對醉酒駕車者進行嚴懲能拯救生命。

自2005年競選上任成功之后，對醉酒駕駛者進行嚴厲的懲罰一直是她工作的重點。這宗案件正好說明了原因。

凱思林:一個7歲的小孩(因車禍)而身首異地，而司機則被活活壓死。我想很多人都會覺得這種醉酒撞車事故，或者他們口中常說的意外，就是，你知道，開車沖下公路，或是闖個紅燈。但這些事故是會置人死地的。

凱蒂·弗林的葬禮吸引了超過1000人參加。她與斯坦

利·拉比諾維茨的死拉響了打擊醉酒駕車行動的號角。

馬丁·海德根被捕，并且不像以往那樣被指控一般殺人罪——即過失致人死亡，這也就是一般醉酒駕車案例中慣用的——而是被嚴厲地指控謀殺罪。這在美國幾乎從未發生過。

記者:海德根的案子為何是一宗謀殺案?

凱思林:根據法例，我們必須找到證據，來證明從他的行動中看出他完全無視生命。

她說，海德根被控告道德冷漠殺人罪，是因為他的行為魯莽至極，隨時可能導致他人死亡。

凱思林:他的行為無可避免地造成凱蒂和斯坦利·拉比諾維茨的死亡。這跟拿著槍對準一個離你5英尺遠的人開槍沒什么兩樣。

記者:你真的這么認為。

凱思林:我的確是這么想的。的確。

Discussion Forum

七嘴八舌討論區

醉酒駕車:別把生命當兒戲!

Opinion 1

Sure， I’ve done it. When you are under the influence， you lose track of right and wrong.

Tips: 經歷過醉酒駕車的人會有更加深刻的體會。這位說話者現身說法，說在酒精作用下(under the influence)，人們根本無法保持理智，辨別是非。“lose track of sth./sb.”表示對某物失去控制、與某人失去聯系，而“right and wrong”相信大家都很熟悉了，即“是非黑白”的意思。

Opinion 2

The penalties are not severe enough. Most governments are all bark and no bite.

Tips: 醉酒駕駛為何頻頻發生，有人說是因為處罰力度不夠。與上文的美國女檢察官Kathleen Rice一樣，這位說話者也把原因歸咎于懲罰力度上。她認為許多政府在處理類似案件的時候都是雷聲大雨點小(all bark and no bite)，沒有實質行動。

Opinion 3

Of course they deserve more than a slap on the wrist， but I think saying it’s murder is a bit of a stretch.

Tips: 不知道大家有沒有這樣的體驗?小時候犯了錯，媽媽總會抓起我們的小手，在手腕上輕輕地打一下，以示懲戒。這個動作，用英語表達就是“a slap on the wrist”。比起那些恐怖的體罰，這個懲罰算是小兒科了。對于醉酒駕車這件事，這位說話者的態度是，現有的懲罰的確過于輕微，但把它歸類到謀殺案件又有點夸張?！癮 bit of a stretch”表示稍顯夸張，言過其實的事情或東西，它的動詞形態為“stretch it a bit”。

Opinion 4

In Australia we have a national slogan that makes it plain as day: If you drink and drive you are a bloody idiot!

Tips: 前些日子全國各地出現了許多規勸大家不要酒后駕車的標語，與以往說教式標語不同，這些新的標語簡單明了(plain as day)、句句在理卻也多少有些雷人，比如說“酒后駕駛者醫院給你開好了房間”、“酗酒開車是駛向死亡與墳墓的選擇”等等，引起了強烈反響。不過大家有所不知，澳大利亞最大的廣告標語之一也與醉酒駕車有關——“If you drink and drive you are a bloody idiot!”(醉酒駕車的人是十足的笨蛋!)

Opinion 5

You don’t realize how serious it is until it touches your life. These morons need a taste of their own medicine.

Tips: 我們都一樣，只有當事情真真切切地在自己身上或周圍發生時，才會有所觸動。這位說話者顯然有過類似經歷，她直呼那些人是神經病、弱智兒(moron)，認為必須得讓他們也嘗嘗滋味才行?！?give) a taste of their own medicine”表示用相同的方法對付某人，也就是我們常說的“以其人之道還治其人

之身”。

Opinion 6

I see it all the time. Guys getting behind the wheel thinking they are Superman. They shouldn’t have a license， let alone a car.

Tips: 車禍見多了，興許也能看出根本原因來。這些醉酒駕駛的人，跳上車、手握方向盤時估計都幻想著自己是超人，在拯救全世界呢。殊不知他們正是殺害無辜人們的罪魁禍首。說話者認為，這些人根本就不配領取駕照，更別說(let alone)擁有汽車了。“behind the wheel”正是駕駛車輛的意思。

Opinion 7

My best friend was killed by a drunk driver. You never really forget. You can never truly let bygones be bygones.

Tips: 這位說話者也有段心酸的回憶，他的好朋友就是在醉酒駕駛車禍中喪生的，她說她永遠無法釋懷，無法讓過去真正成為過去。“Let bygones be bygones.”是一句相當有名的英語諺語，意思是“過去的事情就讓它過去吧。”常用于寬慰他人。

Opinion 8

Of course it’s murder! Once they are in control of the vehicle， they are operating a weapon. There are no two ways

about it.

Tips: 這位說話者認為，說醉酒駕車是謀殺也不為過。他說，那些喝醉的人開車，就跟舉著一把槍之類的武器亂晃沒什么兩樣。“There are/is no two ways about it.”表示這是顯而易見、再明顯不過的事情。注意，在美國英語中，人們更常用“There’s no two ways about it.”的說法，而不是上面這位說話者的“There are…”。