‘Casey’s Journey’ honors drunk driving victim
■Two friends begin a bicycle trip across the country, during
which they will speak about the dangers of drunk driving
By Chris tvyan
for the Emerald
About 20 people gathered in
the Comfort Suites parking lot in
Springfield Friday morning to
watch Bobby Nichols and David
Dearth depart on a cross-country
bicycle ride.
The ride, dubbed “Casey’s Jour
ney,” is in honor of their friend
Casey Beaver, who was killed by
a drunk driver near Goodman,
Mo., in August. The three friends,
originally from Kansas, had
planned to ride cross-country to
gether this summer to celebrate
their college graduations. Nichols
and Dearth have decided to con
tinue with the trip to spread the
word about the dangers of drunk
driving.
“We just wanted to speak from
the heart and tell Casey’s story,”
said Dearth. “He was the perfect
best friend.”
With the help of Mothers
Against Drunk Driving, the pair
will speak in major cities along
the way albout the hazards of
drunk driving.
“It’s overwhelming how much
support we’ve had,” Nichols said.
Nichols and Dearth stood be
hind a booth decorated with in
formation about “Casey’s Jour
ney” and talked about the trip.
Danita Derr, Lane County Chapter
President of MADD, said it’s
timely for the pair to be starting
their trip on Memorial Day week
end.
“Memorial Day is the second
deadliest holiday,” Derr said.
Nichols and Dearth are asking
for stronger drunk driving laws
because the man who killed
Beaver had eight prior convic
tions for driving under the influ
ence of alcohol.
“Casey’s Journey” will end in
Washington, D.C., and Nichols
and Dearth estimate that the trip
will last 49 days and cover rough
ly 3,000 miles.
“We’re trying to stay positive,”
Nichols said. “We know he’d do
it for us.”
R. Ashley Smith Emerald
Bobby Nichols and David Dearth, left, ready their bicycles Friday morning before they begin a ride across America in memory of
their friend Casey Beaver, who was killed by a drunk driver. The three planned the trip before Beaver died, but now Nichols and
Dearth are completing the endeavor to tell the story of their friend’s death to people across the United States.
News brief
Veterans group presents
monument to gay soldiers
CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. — A
gay veterans group unveiled a
monument to remember gay serv
ice members killed in combat.
The Sunday ceremony was at
tended by veterans in uniform, the
mother of a Navy serviceman beat
en to death at age 23 for being gay
and a color guard carrying the rain
bow banner that symbolizes gay
pride.
The activists who pushed for the
monument in this desert city just
south of Palm Springs say it is the
first of its kind.
“It’s a turn-of-the-century event,”
said Dennis Palt, a former Air Force
staff sergeant who served in Viet
nam. “I had hoped for this, but you
could have never thought this
would become a reality in the
1970s, 1980s or ’90s. It’s fabulous.”
The Associated Press
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