Drunk Driving Ends in Tragedy when Teen Kills Her Best Friend

“My name is Jessica Rasdall, and on February 25, 2006, I killed my best friend.” These are the words Jessica Rasdall speaks over and over again. Over the last three years, she’s said these words to more than 15,000 people in a speech that describes the minute details of the tragic night when she drove drunk and veered off the road in an accident that killed her best friend, Laura Ann Gorman.

Jessica and Laura met in kindergarten and were inseparable ever since. At the time of the accident, they were both 18-year-old college freshmen working at a Hooters restaurant near St. Petersburg, Florida, where they grew up. “We were complete opposites but so much alike,” Rasdall said. “I was the short one, she’s the tall one. I was the brunette, she’s the blond. You couldn’t help but be happy and smile when you’re with her.”

On the night of February 26, the two decided to go out dancing after work at a bar; that night, women 18 and over got in for free. While they were dancing, Rasdall says, a male employee at the club waved them over to the bar and asked if they were 21, adding that it didn’t matter if they were or not. According to Rasdall, he then ordered them drinks and suggested that they do shots. “It was a really weird feeling,” she said, “almost like, well, this guy works here and he’s saying it’s OK, we’re allowed to do this.”

The girls left the club at 3 am; Rasdall said they didn’t even think twice about getting in the car. They began the 40-minute drive home and then, one mile from Laura’s dorm at Eckerd College, Rasdall drove the car off the interstate and down a hill, crashing into a tree. Rasdall said that when she woke up in the car, she didn’t know where she was or who she had been with. “I saw somebody was sitting in my passenger seat. The person’s face was turned away from me. I shook her arm. And deep down I knew the person next to me was dead.”

Paramedics had to use the Jaws of Life to free Rasdall from the car and then rushed her to the hospital. There was a large gash on the side of her head and her left ear was hanging off. As she was being prepared for surgery, Rasdall overheard a police officer talking to her mother, describing a purse that belonged to Gorman. It was then that Rasdall realized what had happened. She remembers screaming at the top of her lungs, saying “Not Laura! Why not me?” She screamed, over and over again, “I killed my best friend!”

The day that Rasdall was released from the hospital, Gorman was placed in a mausoleum. The Gormans told the Rasdalls not to come to the funeral, Rasdall said. “I’ve sent cards, letters, flowers, saying how sorry I am. But they’re not ready.” According to the case’s prosecutor Khonsari, Laura was the second child the Gormans had lost—their son died as a baby. “They were a mess,” Khonsari said, “and they continue to be angry today.” The Gormans and the Rasdalls, once close, no longer speak.

A blood sample that was given to law enforcement showed that Rasdall’s blood alcohol content was nearly one-and-a-half times the legal limit, making it clear that the crash was the result of driving under the influence. One month after the accident, Rasdall was arrested on charges of DUI manslaughter.

Although Rasdall admits her guilt publicly, she pleaded not guilty in court in the hopes of avoiding prison time. As she awaited the trial, Rasdall spent most of her days in her bedroom, surrounded by pictures of Laura. She rarely went out, and when she did, her parents drove her to classes at the University of South Florida. Rasdall says she hasn’t driven or touched alcohol since the accident.

Rasdall’s therapist, Dr. Kim Costello, said Rasdall suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and has one of the worst cases of survivor’s guilt that she’s ever diagnosed. As part of Rasdall’s therapy and recovery, they came up with a plan for Rasdall to share her story and warn others of the dangers of drunk driving. Since then, she has spoken to more than 15,000 people in schools and community centers. “I began to see Jessica evolve and come back out of her shell,” Costello told “20/20.” “You can’t be insincere and touch this many people. She’s changing lives.” But the victim’s parents are convinced that Rasdall’s speeches aren’t genuine, and that an attempt to gain leniency from the court.

The Rasdalls sent thousands of letters of support for their daughter to the judge and suggested that there were mitigating circumstances that may have caused the crash. But witnesses suggest that this wasn’t an isolated incident. A friend of Rasdall’s and Gorman’s reluctantly testified and recalled a different night when Rasdall was drunk behind the wheel and vomited on herself while driving, at which point the friend ordered her to pull over.

In court, Rasdall asked for leniency because of her good work. Prior to this, she told “20/20,” “Me going to prison isn’t going to bring Laura back. The only thing it’s going to do is stop me from talking to people about it. And I can save a life, not end one.” The judge sentenced her to four years in prison, and she is currently incarcerated at the Lowell Correctional Institution in Central Florida. “I never feel sorry for myself,” she said nine months after her incarceration began. “I don’t deserve to feel sorry for myself.”

Rasdall is a model prisoner, helping other inmates earn their GEDs. She says she has stopped taking her anti-depressant medications, which has allowed her to fully reflect and grieve for her friend. Rasdall says she will continue her mission to warn others not to drink and drive.

“Laura and I were 18 years old,” Rasdall said from prison. “We thought we were invincible and nothing could ever happen to us, and we made those choices, we took those risks, we paid the consequences. And Laura paid the ultimate consequence. And I am going to wake up every day for the rest of my life knowing I killed my best friend. I would take it all back if I could. Everything.”

Source: ABC News 20/20, Alan B. Goldberg, Drunken Driving Crash Shattered Teen’s Life, June 2, 2009