Two Suspected Drunk Drivers Crash Into, Kill Franklin County Ma...

[coldav503]

i know the teenage driver personally. she is a friend of my teenage daughter. i hope this tragedy will make other teens think twice before getting behind the wheel of an automobile impaired. i know that this has affected my daughter enormously & i hope that this will have an impact on other teenagers.
my heart goes out to mike's family & friends.
may god bless you.

[ST CHARLES]

I seen Mike nearly every morning at Motomart in St Charles and my heart goes out to his entire family! It's very sad that one let alone 2 drunk drivers hit him! He was innocent in the entire accident! He was a great guy and Im sure a wonderful father! I hope that the Prater family finds justice in this and I hope that the drunk drivers get what they deserve! They need to not only be punished for this but also be reminded every day of what they did! The older man that has already been accused of DD needs to be put behind bars for a long time.. The young girl... Im not saying that she should be let go by any means... She still needs to be aware of what she did... she needs to do some time in jail for it! The older guy.. needs more!! NOT HIS FIRST TIME!!!

**** St Charles County resident****

[ST CHARLES]

coldav503 wrote:

i know the teenage driver personally. she is a friend of my teenage daughter. i hope this tragedy will make other teens think twice before getting behind the wheel of an automobile impaired. i know that this has affected my daughter enormously & i hope that this will have an impact on other teenagers.
my heart goes out to mike's family & friends.
may god bless you.

** she needs to do some time in jail for what she has done!!!

[liz]

people are just to stupid. the law should have dealt with the 36 yr.old before someone was killed and the 17yr old needs a harsh wake up call but no matter what is done another person has lost their right to a life because of someone slses stupid actions.my son was killed by a drunk driver while he mowed his own lawn in 2006

[coldav503]

coldav503 wrote:

i know the teenage driver personally. she is a friend of my teenage daughter. i hope this tragedy will make other teens think twice before getting behind the wheel of an automobile impaired. i know that this has affected my daughter enormously & i hope that this will have an impact on other teenagers.
my heart goes out to mike's family & friends.
may god bless you.

i actually live in washington, missouri- not kalamazoo, michigan.

[franklin county citizen]

yea i know what you mean we all tried getting her to change her ways but she never listened... she was doing really well for about 6 weeks or so then slipped back into it all... she had more then plenty of people trying to help her but everyone that treated her good she either pushed away for screwed them over one way or another... i wish her the best of luck but this was a major problem just waiting to boil over into something more like it unfortunately has but there is no help for those people that unfortunately dont think they have a problem... its a shame that she ended someone's life or such a stupid situation that every saw coming even though we all tried to convince her to find another way to express herself...

[2 friends]

My thoughts and prayers go out to Sharon, and the kids and Mike's family. Mike was a great father and his children adored him. I would always see mike and justin outside playing football in the yard when ever they had the chance. Mike loved his chidren very much. It is so unfair to everybody involved, Mike should of been able to watch his children grow up and do all the wounderful things that every parent does. why is it that the drunk drivers always survive and the innocent ones dont? The Prater family will keep Mike's memory alive.
R.I.P. Mike God will take care of the rest.

[jason]

SikUvTheRiteAgain wrote:

I saw this story as reported on Fox last night - only Fox turned it into "being hit by TWO drunk drivers".
It is obvious here that ONE car went over the center line, probably the drunken teenager's Pontiac. After the impact, the victim's car went spinning and was hit by the following "drunk driver". Sounds like bad luck for the second drunk driver. I fail to see how he contributed to this tradgedy. Would a sober, enlightened MADD member been able to swerve out of the way any quicker with a wrecked car spinning wildly out of control in front of them?
The second driver is why DWI deaths get exaggerated. He had nothing to do with this wreck - he himself is a victim. He had priors, he was on administrative suspension, yada yada - what we DON'T know is what ARE his priors? Just .08 twice at DWI roadblocks? Sorry, that doesn't justify being down on him so much. Now, was he regularly .30 and had three wrecks - maybe! But we don't know, do we? The EXTENT of DWI is not important (as it should be), just that he got a couple of DWI's - end of story. Well, maybe he shouldn't have gotten those, either, if he just had two beers and caused no other problems.
Will this count as TWO drunk drivers causing an accident, for the purpose of MADD's inflated statistics they use regularly? BS - this is ONE driver causing this.
Now, as for the 17-year-old drinking and crossing a center line killing somebody - HERE is a case where MADD should come down hard. This person should lose their license for LIFE - with jail time. But hardly ever happens. MADD's more concerned about prohibition and lowering the limit to .05 than it is worried about PROBLEM drinkers like this person is turning out to be.
Of course, I guess nobody is REALLY sure who actually crossed the center line, either, are we? I HOPE they are sure. It would be a shame to blame this teenager if Mr. Squeaky Clean American actually crossed the center line while texting investment info to his broker or blabbing on the cell phone. But it's happened before - the drinker gets blamed BECAUSE of the drinking, not based on causal factors. I've documented several cases. Hope that's not the case here - I am confident the State Patrol will stick to the facts of the wreck, disregarding moral issues.
Either way, rather than picking on the 36-year-old male (as usual), place the blame where it should be: The teenage alcoholic.

Just to let you know this man was a very good friend of mine. No he wasn't texting because he didn't have a f***ing cell phone. As a matter of fact he was my sober drive when me and my wife and him and his wife went to the bar. So if you don't know what you are talking about you need to keep your mouth shut. And i think both of the drunk drivers should go to prison for life.

[jason]

I just want to thank everybody for writing coments about mike and his family. Mike was a good friend of mine. All's he wanted is to watch his kids grow up and graduate school. But thanks to two drunk drivers he can't. So to the man with three dwi's i hope that you are satisfied that you finally killed two childrens dad and a husband. And to the 17 year old girl i know you won't spend the rest of your life in jail. But you need to think about what if this was your dad that some 17 year old killed. So please every body don't let your friends or family drive drunk.

Thank You

[Sara]

I totally agree with Jason and 2 friends. I knew the whole family including sharon's parents. Mike loved to go outside and play with his children. He was like a kid himself at heart. But sharon knows she has alot of people behind her to help bring these 2 drunk drivers to justice and keep MIKE'S memory alive. We are all here for your family. RIP mike you will be missed.

[cargirl]

Mike Prater was my friend. His wife is my friend. Two of my children are the same ages as their children. Some jerk said that the 36 yr old driver shouldn't be blamed. well, BITE ME....had that man (who was not supposed to be driving) had he been at home where he was supposed to be (by LAW), Mike's car would have spun around a few times and chances are MUCH HIGHER that he would have survived. Both drunk drivers should have to stand still while mike's family runs THEM down with a vehicle. They both get to live to drink and drive again...Mike's children have to grow up without THEIR FATHER! What's fair with that????

[cargirl]

also, whoever bought the beer for the party the teenager came from, as well as the homeowners of the party house should be prosecuted for manslaughter. and what about the bar? aren't bars being held accountable when someone they serve kills someone else??? oh, not fair you say? where's "FAIR" for Mike's kids???

[cargirl]

SikUvTheRiteAgain wrote:

I saw this story as reported on Fox last night - only Fox turned it into "being hit by TWO drunk drivers".
It is obvious here that ONE car went over the center line, probably the drunken teenager's Pontiac. After the impact, the victim's car went spinning and was hit by the following "drunk driver". Sounds like bad luck for the second drunk driver. I fail to see how he contributed to this tradgedy. Would a sober, enlightened MADD member been able to swerve out of the way any quicker with a wrecked car spinning wildly out of control in front of them?
The second driver is why DWI deaths get exaggerated. He had nothing to do with this wreck - he himself is a victim. He had priors, he was on administrative suspension, yada yada - what we DON'T know is what ARE his priors? Just .08 twice at DWI roadblocks? Sorry, that doesn't justify being down on him so much. Now, was he regularly .30 and had three wrecks - maybe! But we don't know, do we? The EXTENT of DWI is not important (as it should be), just that he got a couple of DWI's - end of story. Well, maybe he shouldn't have gotten those, either, if he just had two beers and caused no other problems.
Will this count as TWO drunk drivers causing an accident, for the purpose of MADD's inflated statistics they use regularly? BS - this is ONE driver causing this.
Now, as for the 17-year-old drinking and crossing a center line killing somebody - HERE is a case where MADD should come down hard. This person should lose their license for LIFE - with jail time. But hardly ever happens. MADD's more concerned about prohibition and lowering the limit to .05 than it is worried about PROBLEM drinkers like this person is turning out to be.
Of course, I guess nobody is REALLY sure who actually crossed the center line, either, are we? I HOPE they are sure. It would be a shame to blame this teenager if Mr. Squeaky Clean American actually crossed the center line while texting investment info to his broker or blabbing on the cell phone. But it's happened before - the drinker gets blamed BECAUSE of the drinking, not based on causal factors. I've documented several cases. Hope that's not the case here - I am confident the State Patrol will stick to the facts of the wreck, disregarding moral issues.
Either way, rather than picking on the 36-year-old male (as usual), place the blame where it should be: The teenage alcoholic.

Leave it to a moron LIBERAL to defend a murderer!! oops, I'm sorry...a MANSLAUGHTERER!!!

[SaucyB]

SikUvTheRiteAgain wrote:

I saw this story as reported on Fox last night - only Fox turned it into "being hit by TWO drunk drivers".
It is obvious here that ONE car went over the center line, probably the drunken teenager's Pontiac. After the impact, the victim's car went spinning and was hit by the following "drunk driver". Sounds like bad luck for the second drunk driver. I fail to see how he contributed to this tradgedy. Would a sober, enlightened MADD member been able to swerve out of the way any quicker with a wrecked car spinning wildly out of control in front of them?
The second driver is why DWI deaths get exaggerated. He had nothing to do with this wreck - he himself is a victim. He had priors, he was on administrative suspension, yada yada - what we DON'T know is what ARE his priors? Just .08 twice at DWI roadblocks? Sorry, that doesn't justify being down on him so much. Now, was he regularly .30 and had three wrecks - maybe! But we don't know, do we? The EXTENT of DWI is not important (as it should be), just that he got a couple of DWI's - end of story. Well, maybe he shouldn't have gotten those, either, if he just had two beers and caused no other problems.
Will this count as TWO drunk drivers causing an accident, for the purpose of MADD's inflated statistics they use regularly? BS - this is ONE driver causing this.
Now, as for the 17-year-old drinking and crossing a center line killing somebody - HERE is a case where MADD should come down hard. This person should lose their license for LIFE - with jail time. But hardly ever happens. MADD's more concerned about prohibition and lowering the limit to .05 than it is worried about PROBLEM drinkers like this person is turning out to be.
Of course, I guess nobody is REALLY sure who actually crossed the center line, either, are we? I HOPE they are sure. It would be a shame to blame this teenager if Mr. Squeaky Clean American actually crossed the center line while texting investment info to his broker or blabbing on the cell phone. But it's happened before - the drinker gets blamed BECAUSE of the drinking, not based on causal factors. I've documented several cases. Hope that's not the case here - I am confident the State Patrol will stick to the facts of the wreck, disregarding moral issues.
Either way, rather than picking on the 36-year-old male (as usual), place the blame where it should be: The teenage alcoholic.

this is quite possibly the stupidest thing I've ever read. my thoughts are with Mike's family, this is a tragedy that should have never happened

[Bereaved Parent]

This 17 year old left college early that day so she could go PARTY. She even stated to others that she doesn't like to be told what to do. I do not feel sorry for her, I feel sorry for her parents. They have tried hard to do what was right.

To Mike's family, you have my heartfelt condolences. I lost my 20 yr old last year in an accident. The pain never goes away, just treasure the memories. This sounds crazy but, put some clothing into a zip lock bag to preserve his smell.

[STLCITIZEN]

Bereaved Parent wrote:

This 17 year old left college early that day so she could go PARTY. She even stated to others that she doesn't like to be told what to do. I do not feel sorry for her, I feel sorry for her parents. They have tried hard to do what was right.
To Mike's family, you have my heartfelt condolences. I lost my 20 yr old last year in an accident. The pain never goes away, just treasure the memories. This sounds crazy but, put some clothing into a zip lock bag to preserve his smell.

What are you talking about, "this girl left college early that day"???? She's a high school drop-out, not a college student! Lets not give this delinquent credit she doesn't deserve. She's been on the wrong path for far too long. Her father tried to help but she continued to push him away. Hopefully she and the other drunk will learn something from this. God Bless Mike's family.

[David Allan Coe]

An insider wrote:

Just another day in Franklin County.

Unfortunately not, this is happening across the country . Wake up! Idiot . The only way this will stop is to place a breathlyzer on the drunks car so it won't start. This should be mandatory for life of anyone convicted of DWI. First time offenders.

[dontlikedrunks]

David Allan Coe wrote:

<quoted text>
Unfortunately not, this is happening across the country . Wake up! Idiot . The only way this will stop is to place a breathlyzer on the drunks car so it won't start. This should be mandatory for life of anyone convicted of DWI. First time offenders.

sad thing is...It takes a DRUNK to have a breathlyzer put on their car to begin with...DONT DRINK AND DRIVE

[franklin county citizen]

the girl wasn't really registered in college so to speak but she was going to cosmotology school... after she got her G.E.D. i dont know where you all get your info. not that it excuses her in any way shape or form but she was trying to get things straight... she had plenty of people willing to help her and yea i feel really sorry for her dad and her mom... her dad is a really great person who doesn't deserve to be put through this just as much as the victim... But unfortunately everything he tried didn't work along with everyone else that knows the girl everyone tried... she would do good for about a month or so then slip right back into.. i hope she finally pays for all her stupid mistakes she wouldn't listen whenever everyone tried to tell her but now that she knows she messed up, its too late to even help her!! i'm all about forgiving people dont get me wrong but knowing her i'm not sure she's even sorry unfortunately... she seriously has major issures that stretch from alcohol and drug abuse, to compulsive lying... may God help her!

[jwaller]

that 17 year old girl is my girl friend and you are not goning to take her from me