Today is the 10 year anniversary of Charles Mark Mercer. Charlie was a son to me, even though he was not my son by birth or adoption. The story of his death as published in the Tucson Citizen the following day was less than flattering; it only spoke of a prior DUI conviction and the tragic circumstances of his passing. There was no mention of an exceptionally gifted 21 year old who died just as he was on the brink of fulfilling his immense potential. Charlie had earned a full ride academic scholarship to Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona State University where he carried a 4.0 GPA in electrical engineering. He also owned his own small but growing car audio business.

He had no intention of following his classmates into the corporate world to get a “piece of the pie”; analogously speaking, he was going to build his own oven and bake as many pies as his heart desired. The only thing that stood in his way was the decision to get behind the wheel when he was in no condition to do so.

Today, I celebrate the person who Charlie was going to become and pray that someone who reads this will help someone else by preventing a decision like the one that took Charlie from us 10 years ago today. Charlie, I miss you and I will always cherish my memories of our friendship. God Bless.

Sorry for your loss man. I just read the article, and I drive through that intersection almost everyday. Call a cab or stay where you are, it's just not worth endangering yourself or other innocent people.

I agree Aaron.. Very saddening