The pain of a St. Paul drunk driving crash still felt 25 years later
Extra DWI enforcement aims to stop drunk drivers before the worst happens
Dec. 29, 2022
Kevin Brockway was supposed to spend New Year's Day 1998 at his new job, handing out pies at Bakers Square. He never got there.
Kevin, who was 16 at the time, went to a party at a friend's house Dec. 31, 1997. His friend Roy Adams remembers setting up, but everything else is blank.
At some point that night, Kevin and Roy left with Kevin driving. Kevin lost control of his car, leaving the road and hitting a tree.
“The car smashed me, and my pelvis was broken at places. I lost a kidney, punctured my lungs. My liver was cut in half and 90 percent brain damage," Roy said. “Recovery was the hardest things I've ever done. I had to relearn everything. I wasn't even supposed to live."
Kevin didn't. He died in the crash on Upper Afton Road in St. Paul. A metal cross still marks the spot 25 years later.
Kevin's father, Tom Brockway, remembers getting a page that night. He rushed over. “As soon as I took the exit, I saw the lights. It's the worst thing to happen to a parent," Tom said.
Kevin's BAC was 0.22, nearly three times the legal limit to drive.
Roy and Tom shared their story with us in this video: Think of Me Before You Turn the Key: The Impact of a Drunk Driving Crash 25 Years Later.
“I think of him every day, at least 10 or 20 times, you know. That's been every day a constant. He's never left my heart," Tom said. “I miss Kevin. I wonder what he would do and how we would have interacted and what either of our futures would have been."
Following the crash, Tom spoke to dozens of schools and created a memorial keychain, asking folks to think of Kevin before they turn the key. More than 100,000 were given out.
“It's hard, it's sad. What we were doing we were in the wrong. We learned a lesson, a really hard lesson," Roy said.
Troopers, deputies and police officers are participating in a statewide campaign that includes extra DWI enforcement through New Year's Eve, looking to stop drivers who appear impaired before the worst happens. Our Office of Traffic Safety coordinated the enforcement, education and awareness campaign with funding from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
The extra enforcement began the day before Thanksgiving. By halfway through the holiday extra enforcement campaign, law enforcement arrested 1,427 impaired drivers on Minnesota's roads.
Among the arrests were two in Plymouth, Minn., where police responded to separate crashes within minutes of each other. The first was a two-vehicle crash. The driver was arrested with a 0.327 BAC. Twelve minutes later, a vehicle went off the roadway and struck a tree. That driver was arrested with a 0.323 BAC.
In Roy's words: “Let's not lose any more lives due to this. Drinking and driving isn't cool. You have so much to lose in one given second."
Roy and Tom will meet at the site of the crash this New Year's Eve to remember what they have lost.
We ask that you honor Kevin's memory by learning from his mistake. If you're going to be drinking this New Year's Eve, don't get behind the wheel. Get a safe ride home.
