Take A moment to meet Corey
A
fifty "something" year old man goes ice fishing. He spends his
afternoon drinking. On his drive home he crashes into a car driven by Bill,
injuring the driver and killing his eleven year old son Corey.
For
a moment, become one of the family. You are Bill, Corey's father, trapped in a
crumpled car with his only son injured, dying beside him. You are Linda, Cory's
mother. You receive a call from the hospital informing her that there has been
an accident, that the police are on their way to pick you up. You are Jennifer,
Corey's sister, being picked up by her mom from a sleep over at a friend's house
and learning that her brother is dead.
The
sorrow this tragedy brings is beyond words. However, you can imagine the great
emotional pain it brings to his family, immediate and extended.
Corey
William Ryan, mischievous, musically talented, great at hockey, smart, eleven
years old, gone! The careless irresponsible action of one adult robs a child of
his future and irrevocably changes who the Ryan's are both as a family and as
individuals. These are the consequences of drinking and driving.
Cory
was the lucky one because he is with God. We, his family and friends, struggle
with this reality choosing new directions influenced by his death. The
establishment of People to Reduce Impaired Driving Everywhere was one of the new
we chose. For many years the Sudbury Chapter of PRIDE worked to educate the
public on the effects of drinking and driving. Our friends and the Sudbury Media
were instrumental in its success and its offshoot, "Action
Sudbury," formed by then Mayor, Peter Wong.
Our
triumph over tragedy is that we have been able to turn our pain into
spearheading a campaign, which raised awareness of an issue, which previously
had not been discussed. Our hope is that this awareness has saved lives, The
Ryan's.
Action
Sudbury, is a non-profit community organization comprised of
individuals and agencies with a common goal to eliminate the tragedies caused by
impaired drivers in the Sudbury area. This volunteer group was formed in 1984 by
the efforts of the late Mayor Peter Wong and citizens Bill and Linda Ryan who
had just lost a child to an impaired driver. The Ryan's approached Mayor Wong to
see if the City could do anything regarding impaired driving in Sudbury.
Each
year Action Sudbury members fight impaired
driving through the following programs: