Drunk driving survivor shares story with Airmen Published March 8, 2010 By Airman Cynthia A. Haughton Nellis Air Force Base Public Affairs NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. -- Sarah Panzau spoke to young Airmen about her experience with drinking and driving at the Base Theater March 3. Ms. Panzau was in a near-fatal drunk driving accident in 2003, in which she missed a highway exit and rolled her car four times while not wearing a seatbelt. Her accident resulted in the loss of her left arm, more than 30 surgeries, and several months in the hospital. She now travels nine months out of the year reaching students at middle schools, high schools and colleges with her messages about drunk driving, the importance of family, and the meaning of real friends. Ms. Panzau said her goal was to encourage young people to make smart decisions, and to learn from her mistakes. "I won't be there to make the choice for them," Ms. Panzau said. "I hope they leave here seeing that if they make poor choices, bad things can happen. I hope they remember me." Working as a bartender at the age of 19, Ms. Panzau said she became trapped in a pattern of making irresponsible choices. "I turned my back on my family, quit school, and gave up a full ride volleyball scholarship," she said. "The decisions I made and the lifestyle that I chose undoubtedly led me to the inevitable." Ms. Panzau said it was a miracle that she survived the accident. "On the road, I was clinically dead and was given a 0% chance of survival," she said. "I did not have a blood pressure or a pulse, and I was no longer bleeding." As the ambulance crew was considering calling the coroner, Ms. Panzau gasped for air. After she was stabilized, she was airlifted to St. Louis University, where she spent two weeks in a coma and four weeks in intensive care and on a ventilator. Ms. Panzau said that the accident caused her to realize how important her family is to her, and helped her to know who her real friends were. "All of those friends who I thought would have been there for me are gone," she said. "My mom never left my side." "I will go to my grave regretting what I put my mother through," Ms. Panzau said, referring to her mother's early morning visit by two state policemen. "It's not just about us -- things that happen to us affect everyone we love." Col. Richard A. Coe, commandant of the Weapons School, introduced Ms. Panzau before she began her presentation. "Sometimes in life, you need a wake-up call," Colonel Coe said. "I think today is one of those wake-up calls."
