Every night she called her parents before they went to bed. The message was always the same: "I love you and goodnight."
That's how Regina Brett began her column in the Cleveland Plain Dealer last Wednesday. She was describing Grace Chamberlain, an 18-year-old freshman at Hiram College who was killed eleven days ago in a car accident.
The driver of the other car was James Cline, 47, who has eleven DUI convictions. On the night of the accident when he crossed over the yellow line and hit the pickup Grace was driving in, his blood alcohol level was .304, four-and-a-half times the legal limit.
How did we get to this point? Why did it happen?

Hiram College is located in Northeast Ohio, a great little college of 900 students. Losses like this hit us hard. Especially when they are so senseless. Grace was a good student, active on campus. She was a student who didn't get drunk, volunteered at local hospitals, and stayed out of trouble.
And Grace was not the only student in the car. Two other Hiram freshmen were with her -- they were driving to Walmart to get ready for a Spring Break trip. Andy Hopkins, an honor student and musician from Champion, Ohio, died yesterday from his injuries suffered in the accident. The third student is in intensive care, facing several more surgeries and months of hard rehabilitation and physical therapy.
After the grieving and anger will come the basic questions: how did this happen? and why? and what can be done?
Unfortunately, stories like this are not unique -- they play out all across the country. What makes this one a little different, though, is the number of DUI convictions Cline had. That's what has Hiram and the rest of Northeast Ohio in an uproar. Regina Brett followed her Wednesday column with one on Friday listing all the judges who let Mr. Cline stay on the streets. Here's a list of his last three cases:
2004: Judge Mark J. Hassett Fine: $1,000. Suspended: $500. Jail: 360 days. Suspended: 305. License suspended: 1,825 days. Probation: two years. No sentence for driving under suspension. Dismissed: failure to control and failure to wear a seat belt.
2004: Judge Thomas Old, Newton Falls Fine: $2,500. Suspended: $1,500. Jail: 360 days. Suspended: 330. Exchanged 30 days jail for 90 days house arrest. License suspended: three years. Work privileges. Probation: two years. Dismissed: lane change, no seat belt.
Cline was cited June 28, 2005, for driving under suspension. He still hasn't gone to trial. Judge Hassett granted five continuances.
As a blog community that prides itself on changing the political environment, how does this story fit in? What can the Hiram community do to rise up and make sure something like this doesn't happen again?
How did we get to this point? Why did it happen? and what can be done?