Encouraging Young Drivers To Be Safe

Music playing, laughing, and enjoying themselves, the boys were traveling at twice the speed limit, came to a curve and, unable to negotiate the sharp turn, hit the guard rail.

the

 worst day

                                                                    of our lives

Brandon and Paul lost their lives because of a series of poor decisions that night.  Their futures, so full of potential, came to an abrupt end, and forever changed the lives of their friends and families. 

If any single one of the decisions made that night had been different, they would still be alive. 

Brandon Nichols

After impact with the guardrail, the car traveled up onto the side of the mountain, then flipped onto its roof.  As the vehicle flipped, both the driver and the front passenger were ejected from the car.  When the car came to a rest, the three in the back were still in the car and restrained in their seatbelts.  They walked away with minor physical injuries. 

Paul Ondrish

Paul and Brandon were killed in a one-car crash on High Grade Road in Jefferson County, Colorado on July 13, 2006.  The boys were not wearing their seat belts at the time of the crash.  Three other boys, who were in the back seat and wearing seat belts, survived with minor injuries.

Brandon and Paul were typical 20 year olds.  They loved to golf, play poker, bowl, play World Cup Soccer on Play Station and eat. They enjoyed an incredibly eclectic taste in music.  The CD mixes they had included everything from Journey, Breaking Benjamin, and Michael Jackson to 80’s “hair bands” and Rap artists to select Frank Sinatra tunes.

Our boys were not afraid to show their love for life or their goofy side. So often the life of any gathering, always able to get a laugh from the crowd, they made a lasting, loving impact on all they touched.

 Both Paul and Brandon come from large, supportive and loving families and were not ashamed to make them a priority in their lives.  Both held part time jobs. Both were enrolled in college. Paul was studying to be a mechanical engineer, and Brandon to be a history teacher. 

There are no words to adequately describe the full impact and devastation this has had on their families, friends, and co-workers. The world has truly lost two great individuals.  They are terribly missed. 

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One night..... several decisions..... countless lives affected.......

Paul and Brandon were in the front seat, not wearing their seatbelts.

They died at the scene.

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The boys and several friends were meeting in a parking lot to make their plans for the evening.  While they were all still gathering, they went to the local liquor store known for selling to underage kids and made a purchase. They then rejoined the group still gathering in the parking lot.

Deciding they needed more alcohol, they returned to the liquor store, made a second purchase then headed off to the bowling alley for some midnight bowling.  A few hours later, finished with bowling, they set out to return to their cars and head home.

Upon arriving at the original meeting place they decided that they were not quite ready to call it an evening.  Instead they went for a drive up Deer Creek Canyon to High Grade Road.  The three passengers in the backseat buckled up as they took off, the driver and front passenger did not.