{"id":366,"date":"2018-12-01T19:06:59","date_gmt":"2018-12-01T19:06:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/madd.org\/new-york\/?p=366"},"modified":"2022-05-25T06:06:06","modified_gmt":"2022-05-25T06:06:06","slug":"melissa-giorgio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/madd.org\/new-york\/melissa-giorgio\/","title":{"rendered":"Melissa Giorgio"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"366\" class=\"elementor elementor-366\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-3b2b0ac1 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"3b2b0ac1\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-68863882\" data-id=\"68863882\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-205632d8 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"205632d8\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <p>June 24, 2008\u2026..an ordinary day for most; for me it was the day that turned my world upside down and life as I knew it would never be!&nbsp;&nbsp; I recall it being a beautiful sunny day.&nbsp; Melissa, the youngest of my three children, had just gotten home from work and was excited to be going into the city to go out with some friends.&nbsp; She hurriedly changed, waved goodbye and said, \u201cI\u2019ll see you later.\u201d&nbsp; Little did I know it would be the last time I would ever hear her voice, see her smile or feel her hugs again.<\/p>\n<p>It was around 11:20 pm and the phone rang.&nbsp; Expecting to hear Melissa\u2019s voice telling me what train she was catching to come home, I picked up the phone and heard a man\u2019s voice.&nbsp; He was telling me that Melissa was hit by a car and was taken to Bellevue hospital.&nbsp; I can\u2019t even begin to describe what was going through my head.&nbsp; My body was trembling, my thoughts were racing.&nbsp; Was she alright?&nbsp; How bad was it?&nbsp; Was she in pain?&nbsp; My baby girl was hurt and I had to get to her right away!<\/p>\n<p>It seemed like an eternity before I got to the hospital, but when I did I found my sweet girl unconscious and on life support.&nbsp; She fought for her life for 5 days, but had suffered such severe head trauma that there was no fight left in her.&nbsp; Melissa passed away on June 29, 2008 at the very young age of 21.<\/p>\n<p>While crossing the street in Manhattan, Melissa was killed by a drunk driver.&nbsp; In an instant, all of her hopes, her dreams and aspirations were taken away from her.&nbsp; All that she worked towards, gone!&nbsp; She would never graduate from college\u2026.she would never marry\u2026..she would never have children.&nbsp; She was robbed of a full life because of the actions of this one person who thought nothing of getting behind the wheel drunk.<\/p>\n<p>It was at that moment that I made a promise.&nbsp; A \u201cPromise to Melissa\u201d that I would never drink and drive.&nbsp; A promise to help bring awareness to the dangers of driving drunk, and a promise to help bring an end to this senseless crime.&nbsp; The time is now!!&nbsp; Too many lives continue to be lost because of this 100% preventable crime.<\/p>\n<p>For 10 years now I have joined with Mothers Against Drunk Driving to do the same.&nbsp; They have been a great support to me and others who have fallen victim to this horrible, unimaginable crime.&nbsp; You can help save a life. If only one life is saved\u2026.if only one family is spared this loss, then Melissa\u2019s death would not have been in vain.<\/p>\n<p>Mary Giorgio<br>\nMelissa\u2019s Mom<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>June 24, 2008\u2026..an ordinary day for most; for me it was the day that turned my world upside down and life as I knew it would never be!&nbsp;&nbsp; I recall it being a beautiful sunny day.&nbsp; Melissa, the youngest of my three children, had just gotten home from work and was excited to be going&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/madd.org\/new-york\/melissa-giorgio\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Melissa Giorgio<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":948,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"elementor_theme","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-366","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-victim-stories","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.5 - 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