Living with a DWI

         Many people don’t know, firsthand, how a DWI affects a person’s life; it is a terrifying, expensive, and scarring experience. Grant Keefer. A pre-med student who received his first DWI during South by South West, talked about the experience of receiving a DWI at such a young age and the affects it could have on his future as a surgeon.

            Grant Stephen Keefer, a 20 year old pre-med student at the University of Texas, spent the entire day of March 17, 2013 running around the city of Austin listening to live bands and enjoying free drinks that bars and concert venues gave out during South by South West.  After a full morning of drinking at a local bar on Congress he got in his car to drive home, and that is when the DWI happened.

            South by South West is one of the biggest entertainment festivals in the world. Every year, during the month of March, Austin hosts a festival full of new music, movies, and technology. Thousands of people from around the world fly to Austin to participate.

            The festival has become a huge party scene, and because of that it has become a hot spot for alcohol related arrests. In fact, DWI arrests during this time of year have spiked exponentially.

            “During this time of year people get careless. All of this fun time and free booze makes them that way,” APD Assistant Chief Raul Munguia said. “We actually try to crack down on people harder during events like this and Austin City Limits because our city statistics show that during these times there is a huge spike in drunk driving. We need that to stop.”

            DWI offenses have spiked 100 percent between 2011 and 2013, according to Trey Parker, Keefer’s DWI lawyer. “Because drinking and driving happens more and more every year during this festival, if you do get a DWI during those 10 days the punishment is more severe than it would be if you received one any other time of the year. We are trying to send a message to people. We are trying to keep everyone safe,” Munguia said.

            “I just remember seeing the red and blue flashing lights in my rearview mirror and I could feel my heart drop to my stomach. I knew I was a dead man,” Keefer said as he hung his head in his hands, the effects of that day still lingering in his head.

            While Grant was at the bar on that Monday, he had consumed four beers and had split an entire bottle of wine between him and one other friend. When the bottle was finished he went directly to his car to go home and was pulled over as soon as he pulled out of his parking spot. Keefer didn’t know it at the time, but there was a police car parked near his car and the police officers inside the cop car watched Keefer drunkenly get into his car to drive home.

            Grant was arrested and taken to the Austin City Jail, where he spent the whole night. “It was the scariest experience of my life, “says Keefer, “I’m not a bad kid, I promise. I just made a huge mistake. I didn’t belong there; I needed to fix things.”

            The next day, after being released, Grant’s biggest concern was hiring a Lawyer that would help clear his name and save his chances of getting into medical school.

 “I knew that this whole event was going to look awful when I applied to medical school, and that is what scared me the most. I have worked too hard for this, I can’t just lose it. Do you know how many loans I’ve had to take out just to attend school here?! I have worked too hard to just lose this,” said Keefer in a strained voice.

Keefer has taken out six loans with the school: Loans that his family can’t afford. It is his responsibility to graduate, get a job in the medical field, and pay back the loans himself.

Keefer is not the only college student on financial aid and worrying about how they are going to pay the school back. These days, 33 percent of college students depend on Grants and scholarships to pay for their college.

 “It’s a really stressful life,” Keefer said. “Every semester when I sign up for classes and buy all my books, I become so stressed. Money is always in the back of my mind, and now I have to worry about paying for this DWI too. I’m just, I just feel so stupid.”

Keefer needs Medical school. His biggest goal right now is to go to medical school, graduate, and get a job so he can repay all of his loans. He feels that this DWI might put his dream to a screeching halt, but he refuses to go down without a fight. Keefer knows he is guilty of the crime he was arrested for and he is willing to pay the cost and deal with the consequences, but Keefer is ready to do anything to get the DWI taken off his record. He has taken all of the money he saved from being a lifeguard over the past few summers and put it towards a lawyer.

 The $3,500 Keefer paid for his lawyer was a small price to pay for his future as a doctor. His lawyer, Trey Collins, truly believes that Keefer will have no problem getting into medical school. “I have done extensive research on this topic. I have had many clients just like Grant, and yes it is a big obstacle but I don’t think he will have any problem getting into medical school,” Collins said confidently.

            Collins has lifted a great amount of stress off of Keefer’s shoulders by helping him every step of the way and has given him hope for his future.

“This has been the biggest mistake of my life, but my greatest learning experience. This dilemma has taught me a lot about myself. Mainly that I need to think before I do anything and that my future is too important to be making mistakes like this,” Keefer said.