Living a Horror This presentation is an attempt to bring to the minds of some people, a sense of responsibility towards our fellow neighbours, and citizens. Never to have been born at all, is better than having to be born to commit a grievous mistake, and live a life in curse.

Dear friends, We are all people who would like to live our lives, in the best possible way. We certainly do not wish to harm those around us, in our quest to live good. But, have we ever thought about those who may be harmed accidentally or unknowingly, in this quest of ours? Certainly, we do give the least importance to such a thought. Here, I present to you, one such act, that was senseless and unnecessarily committed, with sheer disregard for those around, which resulted in a costly accident, were a young girl’s life is ripped raw, and split wide open. I hope and pray, that this never happens to others, through your life!

THIS IS THE LIFE OF VENEZUELAN BORN JACQUELINE SABURIDO, A YOUNG IMMIGRANT GIRL WHO CAME TO STUDY IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

Like all small girls of her age, Jacqui was the beloved child of Amadeo and Rosalia. A snap of her 8 th birthday, along with her parents.

She grew up to be a charming young teenager, widely accepted and loved by all in her family and among friends.

A photo taken with her father, just before she left for the U.S. in 1999, shows her attachment with family. Memories that would have later burned down the hearts of many loving parents.

This was the last party she had as a normal human being, on the occasion of the birthday of one of her friends. She never knew that her life, was on the verge of a painful change, a few more hours away from a big disaster.

On a Sunday morning of September 19 th 1999, all her dreams burned down to ashes at this crash site on a highway, at Austin, Texas, USA.

Admitted to an hospital at Galveston, she had 60 percent burn injuries, and was disfigured beyond recognition and, decapitated beyond any living human being could withstand.

Seen sitting here with her father, her right ear is a pea-sized black hole with a slender crescent of cartilage around it. The left side has just a hole. Her fingers are amputated between the knuckle and the first joint.

She can make out some texture with the bottom of her right palm but, can feel only pinpricks in her left arm.

A flap of skin hides her left eye. Her right eye sees behind a veil of scar. Her nostrils are ragged and torn..

Her burned skin can’t sweat and protect her from heat and cold. Nerve damages have left, parts of her body numb.

In the absence of her eye lids, she needs constant medication and care, to keep them from drying and being infected.

Having recovered from her unbearable trauma, she is seen being assisted by her father, to move her left hand joints.

Here she is seen on the lap of her mother, it took more than 2 years and 40 surgeries by medical experts, to put her back in a sort of human form.

No matter, how deep you repent, some mistakes are just not rectifiable. This had happened on the 19 th September 1999. It could happen to anyone, anywhere, anytime. Now, I present to you that unfortunate young man who was charged for this offence. He is Mr. Reggie Stephey , an 18-year-old star football player, on his way home from drinking beer with some buddies on that fateful day, that changed the course of life of innocent Jacqui.

In June 2001 at the age of 20, Reggie Stephey was convicted of two counts of intoxication and manslaughter, for the deaths of Jacqui’s two friends. He was sentenced to seven years in prison and fined $20,000. Here, he is seen repenting at what he did, by saying, “a pain that will never go”.

So dear friends, don’t drink and drive. Save a life, and live in peace. Who knows, who else will take the place of Reggie, and whose life stands to be so torn apart to shreds, as that of unfortunate Jacqui.