Eric Searcy had always dreamed of pitching in the College World Series, until tragedy struck and he was hit by a drunk driver.  Just two years ago, Eric was completing finals at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and his lifelong dream was coming closer to reality when he was offered a position on the ULL baseball team.
Just a day later all of that would change when a drunk driver with seven previous DWI arrests and two DWI convictions passed out at the wheel and ran a red light, striking the vehicle Eric was riding in.

Since that tragic event Eric has made it his personal mission to both walk again, and to help others realize the effects of drinking and driving.  He is featured in several public service announcements  for the federally funded You Drink and Drive, You Lose program.

Melanie Hogan was a pre-law major at LSU who had driven into Baton Rouge from Gulf Shores, Alabama, where she was interning at a law firm for the summer.  During the course of the evening, she went to several bars where she met up with friends and eventually made one last stop at a bar where she had previously worked as a bartender.  The bartender there also happened to be a friend, so Melanie offered to stay and help her clean up.  When it was time for Melanie to leave for the night, someone at the bar suggested she shouldn't drive because she seemed tired, but Melanie insisted she would be fine.
As she drove towards her friend's apartment where she was staying, Melanie saw a car in front of her but didn't realize how close it was.  When she saw a child climbing over the seat of the car, Melanie slammed on her brakes and veered to avoid the collision, but clipped the vehicle into oncoming traffic.  The driver of the impacted car was forced into a head on collision with a truck, which killed the driver and seriously injured the young girl.
At the time of the crash, Melanie's blood-alcohol level was 0.25, or 2½ times the legal limit.  She was arrested and convicted of vehicular homicide and served 100 days in the East Baton Rouge Prison.

Some time later, Melanie and her young nephew stopped at a restaraunt where a young girl, about 10 or 11 years old, was helping a handicapped girl into the restroom.  The handicapped girl looked at Melanie and said, 'You're Melanie Hogan.'   Melanie confirmed her identity, but was not expecting to find out the younger child was the one she had injured.

The IDFY conference is sponsored by the Calcasieu Parish District Attorney’s Office and The Pathology Lab.  It is the only program of its kind in the state of Louisiana.  Currently there are over 4,000 middle and high school students enrolled in IDFY.

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