Example Illustrative Essay

Speeding Kills

The light stands at a bright red while you impatiently grind your tightly squeezed hands on the steering wheel. You start to sweat, and your heart beats fast, as you mischievously look over your shoulder to the car in the next lane. Suddenly, the light shines a golden green, and you punch your gas pedal to the floor with your heavy foot, as your wheels spin from underneath you, ready to launch you off like a rocket ship! Sounds pretty fun, doesnt it? Many teenagers have this same adventure everyday, not knowing what the outcome could be like if something went wrong. Speeding and street racing can be very dangerous to you and others around you. I've experienced many times with family and friends what speeding can cause. I'm hoping that you will read carefully my stories and see how speeding can really be deadly thing. Maybe this essay will make you think twice before going over the speed limit. Speeding can cause pain for you and your loved ones.

One incident where speeding was the cause of emotional pain for someone happened about three years ago. The boy's name was Brian. He was a good kid that always went to class and was rarely late, but it only took one morning of sleeping in too long for him that changed his life forever. Brian rushed out of his two-story house and jumped like lightning into his black F150 in a hurry to get to Judson High School because he was late. He drove about 70 miles per hour when the speed limit was actually only 55. Thinking he was Richard Petty, Brian swerved in and out of lanes with grace. He only had one thing on his mind and that was to get to class before his teacher--a.k.a. The Grinch-- found out that he wasn't there. He realized that his exit to Hwy 78 was the next one, so he sped up to get into the right lane. Without warning, he noticed that the line of cars at the exit was at a stop, which forced Brian to slam on his brakes hard. Unfortunately, since Brian was driving so fast, the brakes wouldn't allow Brian to stop in time, and he rammed right into a tiny, little red Cavalier. The impact was so hard that it jolted Brian and caused him to hit his head on the steering wheel. Blood rushed down his head as Brian slowly drifted unconscious. There was a policeman nearby that saw the whole accident. When Brian woke up in the hospital, he was surrounded by his mother, the doctor, and two cops. Brian was told that the vehicle that he hit contained a 32 year old mother and her two young sons. The mother and the oldest son were dead when help arrived, and the youngest son was left in critical condition. Brian was arrested for manslaughter of the two innocent victims. Brian sits everyday in his cold, lonely jail cell, thinking about that horrible day. Not a day goes by that he wishes he would of slowed down. He now will spend the rest of his life thinking of how going the speed limit and slowing down could have changed his life and the lives of the victims for the better, instead of the worse.

That story told of how speeding caused emotional pain for one person and physical pain for someone else who was totally innocent. Now, what if the physical pain happened to you? My next story is about my cousin, Jamie, who always had the need to speed anywhere that she went. Jamie was a pretty girl, and I looked up to her. I loved going places with her and hanging out, but there was always this knot in my stomach when I stepped into her car. Jamie would fly down the highway with the radio blasting and the windows rolled down. It was something that made her feel good. She wasn't ever late for a meeting or class; she just loved to push the pedal to the metal. One day, as Jamie was carelessly driving home, she came upon a sharp curve in the road just minutes away from her house. Instead of slowing down and cautiously taking the turn, she decided to speed up. As she jerked her wheel to the right, the car suddenly flipped, sending it flying into the air. The car then rolled a few times until it landed in a lake! Jamie amazingly found her way out of the sinking red Firebird and managed to crawl to the road to find help. Luckily, an older gentleman found Jamie lying unconscious on the side of the road. She was rushed to the Methodist Hospital emergency room. Her mother, Laurie, drove to the hospital as soon as she found out. Her mother has a lot of health problems, so when she saw her only child lying in the bed with blood running continually from her body, she fell like a rag doll to the floor. My aunt had a heart attack! A month later, Jamie was released from the hospital and her mother was already back at home. Jamie can only recall parts of the accident. She vaguely remembers cold water rushing into her car, and her seat belt already off. To this day she can't say how she got to the roadside. Jamie was extremely lucky to have survived that terrible accident. She now takes her time when going places, and follows the speed limit. The story shows how speeding caused pain to not only the driver, but also her mother. That story ended up happy, but what if there was not one good thing at the end? What if because of speeding, you never got to say goodbye to someone you loved?

I was only nineteen years old. I had just gotten married and was on my way home from my honeymoon with my husband Chris. We went to Cancun, which is a beautiful place with lots of things to explore, but unfortunate for me, I was sick the entire time! My family, including my son, Jacob, greeted us at the gate of the airport. We laughed and talked happily about the trip. Then, my little sister, Caitlyn, asks my mom, "Can I tell her?" I looked puzzled and replied, Tell me what? My mom's face turned serious, and she couldn't look me in the eye. She then turned to me slowly and with a tear in her eye said, "Travis was killed in a car accident this week." I just sat there with this feeling of confusion all over me. What do you mean Travis is dead? I just saw him Saturday at my wedding! Travis Cantrell has been a good friend of mine since ninth grade. My husband and I used to watch him play baseball at Judson with all of our other friends. Travis was definitely the funniest guy out of the whole bunch, and when you needed a shoulder to cry on, he was there. When we arrived at my mom's house, all of my friends were waiting for me. They had already heard the terrible news and knew that I would really need them, since I had just found out. Warm tears just rolled down my soft cheeks as I sat there looking at all of their sunk in faces. They all embraced me and that's when I broke down. I kept screaming, What happened? But nobody would talk. Finally, my best friend Jenny took me inside and sat me down. This is how I lost my friend. It was the fourth of July, and there was a big party at our friend's house at the lake. Travis didn't even spend much time at the party because he spent most of his time fixing a flat tire for an older lady. He didn't have anything to drink that night and needed to get home so that he could spend some time with his mother. It was about eleven o'clock at night when he told everyone goodbye and left. A friend, Katie, asked Travis to take her home and he agreed. It's a good thirty-minute drive from the lake. Travis talked to his mom one last time before the accident. Travis loves to race. He owned a white Z28 Camero, which he loved to taunt other street racers with. That night wasn't any different for him, except that something awful went wrong. Travis was racing down I.H. 35 against another teenager. He had confidence that he was faster and nobody could beat him. He zoomed down that highway like he was the king. With the windows rolled down and the wind blowing through their hair, it was his natural high! He didn't need drugs or alcohol to make him feel good; just his car and the road. Then, without warning, Travis lost control of the wheel. He was going way too fast to step on the brake, but tried. Travis couldn't handle the car and the Camero went flying off the highway like a man flicking a cigarette, over the access road, and smacked straight into the middle of a telephone pole. The car flew a good thirty feet without ever touching the ground. My parents live right behind the building in Selma where the accident happened, which caused their electricity to go out. My father heard the crash and went to see what happened. He was one of the first people to arrive. He told me that the Camero hit the pole roof first, and split the pole in two pieces. He saw Travis and Katie lying there with blood drenched all over their bodies. He didn't even realize it was Travis, until the police got out his license. He saw Travis first and knew he was already dead. When the car hit the pole it severed both of Traviss arms off. Katie was in very bad condition, but was barely holding on. She died in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. The report said that Travis hit the pole going a speed of 120 m.p.h. The thought of Travis' death still haunts me to this day. I can't imagine how he felt as his car took over his life forever. Travis wasn't drinking that night, but speeding still caused him to lose his life and his friends. We all miss him and hope that everyone that knew Travis learned a lesson that night.

As you can see, speeding can really be the enemy. It causes pain to so many people in so many ways everyday in the United States. It can cause emotional pain or even physical pain to your body. If you're not lucky, then it can cost your life and maybe someone close to you. Street racing is not a game. If you feel the need to speed, then take it on the track. There are many places that will allow you to race your vehicle on a safe track, where innocent bystanders won't get hurt. I hope you will take these stories to heart and maybe replace the names with a loved one you know and see how it feels. I never got to say goodbye to my friend, and it kills me. I have a gift that he gave me for my wedding that reminds me of him everyday, but that won't bring him back. Think twice before you get into your car and make sure you buckle up. Tell others about my stories and warn them of the consequences of what speeding can do. Speeding kills: don't let it kill you. Its better to be LATE for something, then to be EARLY to your grave. Slow down, dont speed, and have a long and wonderful life!

English 1301 Home © Lennie Irvin 2018