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Why unlicensed underage drivers are dangerous

A recent accident in Osceola County resulted in the death of a 12-year-old girl who was a passenger in a car driven by a second girl barely older than herself. Tony Francis of Francis Law Firm based in Orlando weighs in with some cogent observations.



It happened one June evening in the heat of the night. A car driven by 14-year-old Allison Sullivan was speeding happily along on a rural road one instant, an instant later, her vehicle was stopped and crashed and one of her passengers, 12-year-old Shauna O'Rourke, was dead. Shauna was from St. Cloud. The group in the vehicle included two teen girl, a toddler, and Shauna's 25-year-old brother, Daniel O'Rourke. Ironically, although perhaps in a normal circumstance he might have been driving, he'd never even gotten his driver's license.



According to the Florida Highway Patrol, the time of the accident was approximately 10:45 p.m. Young Sullivan put her foot down to brake on the narrow asphalt strip called Absher Road. They were east of St. Cloud. The rapid and inexplicable deceleration caused Sullivan to lose control as the car skidded. It spun like a daisy wheel, struck a culvert, and became airborne in the manner of tornadic debris. Flipping onto its metallic carapace, Shauna O'Rourke and her brother were thrown from the car because they didn't bother to fasten their seatbelts. .



The death of the unbelted 12-year-old was perhaps predictable. She was pronounced dead at Arnold Palmer Hospital. Her 25-year-old brother sustained serious injuries and was eventually treated at Orlando Regional Medical Center. The two other passengers and Sullivan received minor injuries.



It was determined during a computer records check by FHP officers that Daniel O'Rourke had always been without a driver's license. He'd never had one. He'd been snared for driving without one in 2004, while guilty of leaving traffic tickets unpaid, including several violations involving his bicycle. O'Rourke's criminal record in Osceola County was extensive. His most recent encounter with the law was in 2009 when he'd been convicted on a drug charge.



"I hate these kinds of cases," said Francis of the Orlando-based Francis Law Firm. "Why was she was driving in the first place? She is only 14 and didn't even have learner's permit, let along a license. These kinds of tragedies occur a lot more than they should in our state. Would you let your underage daughter operate a motor vehicle at night on a narrow country road while traveling at deadly speed?"

About the victim, Francis was rueful yet matter-of-fact. "Shauna never received the opportunity to mature into the woman she might have. Who knows what she might have contributed to society?" he asks.



But why wasn't the adult, Daniel O'Rourke, behind the wheel in place of his underage companion? "They were probably in the habit of committing this behavior as a group, finding it an ordinary reality to have their 14-year-old friend do the driving. The circumstances leading to this tragedy notwithstanding, the 25-year-old is likely to be scarred emotionally by the events which transpired for as long as he draws breath."

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