When Michele Mirowicz Hobart thinks about her daughter who was killed in a crash on Interstate 270 in Maryland, the memories come with tears and a sad smile.
The smile comes from the jumbled memories of a holiday in which 19-year-old Amelia tried and failed to bake bread from scratch or serve up a flawless Hollandaise sauce for the family dinner. Mirowicz Hobart remembered Amelia “in the kitchen with her sisters, cooking dishes, dancing to inappropriate music, singing off key” and immersed in the holiday preparations.
The tears spring from the memory of hearing that the Poolesville teen had been killed in an early morning crash on Nov. 29, reportedly by a driver who was under the influence of alcohol.
“We never got to say goodbye to Amelia. Her vehicle was engulfed in flame,” she said. “All we have left of her now are photos, those memories and a vessel full of her ashes.”
Addressing teenagers heading into prom and graduation season, Mirowicz Hobart asked that Amelia’s memory “be the reason that you stop and think and you choose. Make safe choices. As I tell my kids, don’t be dumb. Make good choices, so that you and those you love can cross that graduation stage and not instead be remembered at a memorial.”
Hobart spoke Thursday at a news conference ahead of prom season. She joined police, the Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy and a representative of Mothers Against Drunk Driving to appeal to drivers to avoid drinking and driving.
McCarthy said several county schools are holding their proms this week.
“We know that we’re entering the time of the year when our young people are most at risk to be involved in a crash or an accident that may actually take their lives. In Montgomery County, we’re not immune from that,” he said.
Speaking as a parent, McCarthy had a warning for other parents who might think they could keep their child safer by hosting parties where alcohol is available.
“If you’re an adult and you’re taking a risk with my child’s life, giving them alcohol, you don’t have a right to do that. You don’t have a right to do that with my kid,” he emphasized.
Speaking as a prosecutor, McCarthy put parents on notice.
“There are great penalties. You can go to jail and be fined for furnishing alcohol to minors,” he said.
Kurt Erikson, president of the Washington Regional Alcohol Program, urged parents to have a frank talk about drinking with their teenagers.
“Ensure that your teen can talk to you if they make a mistake. Have a plan in place if your child does decide to drink alcohol, and make sure they know to call a parent to pick them up or call 911, in the case of an emergency,” he said.
Erikson underscored McCarthy’s message by pointing out that parents who host parties where underage drinking occurs can face up to one year in jail, and fines of up to $5,000 in cases where teenagers who drink end up in a serious crash.
Maryland State Police Capt. Prendi Garcia said that he was limited in what he could say about the two-vehicle crash that killed Amelia Hobart, but did say that the drivers of both cars had been charged with driving under the influence.
On Wednesday, the driver of the van involved in the crash, 23-year-old Byron Bautista Turcios of Beltsville, was indicted on charges of manslaughter by motor vehicle, homicide by motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol and driving without a license.
“We remain committed to reducing and effectively investigating all alcohol-related collisions,” he said.
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