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| The victim of a drunk driver, Ryan Joshua Campos |
The story you are about to read include true events shared with me by my friend Tiffenii Mumphrey. I urge you all to please take the time to read this blog and also support this wonderful non profit organization founded by Teresa Bullard and help make the memories of so many drunk driving victims, like Ryan Josh Campos, not be one of sorrow but of hope of what we can achieve when we come together through tragedy to make a difference. Although living very different lives, Tiffenni and Teresa were destined to meet and forge a common bond while providing mutual support and comfort through similar shared experience. This is further proof that everything happens for a reason and there are no mistakes in the creator's plans for all of us. Thank you in advance for your support and I would like to take this time to extend my deepest condolences for anyone who has lost a loved one to the senseless act of drunk driving. Xx Billy Charles
Submitted to Billy Charles by Tiffenii Mumphrey:
If someone would have told Teresa Bullard a year ago, that
one video would change two families’ lives forever, she would not be convinced
at all. In the early morning hours of August 18, 2012, Tiffenii Mumphrey and her
husband were driving back from Nacogdoches, Texas, when they saw a flurry of lights in the distance on
the outskirts of Jacksonville Texas.
“As I looked at one of the policeman directing traffic, I
told my husband that he looked as if he’d seen a ghost,” Tiffenii said.
It did not take long to figure out why. Turns out, carnage
from a horrific wreck was right within eyesight in which two young men life less
bodies could be seen. Instinctively, for reasons she still can’t
explain, Tiffenii took out her cell phone and started videoing the scene. What
she didn’t know was that split second decision would, turn lead to an unlikely friendship
between Teresa and
Tiffenii. One of the men
killed in the accident,
was Teresa’s son, 22
year-old Ryan Joshua
Campos. He was a passenger in the car that was hit
head on by a drunk driver.
Tiffenii saved the video in her phone and would often search the
internet for any new information on the details of the wreck, but couldn’t find
anything. Then one day in October 2012, she was sitting in her office at the
Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MAAD) office in Tyler, when she overheard an
obviously distraught woman complaining that the investigating officials are
telling her there wasn’t a video or other information from the night that her
son was killed in Jacksonville.
“Something told me to get up and go talk with this woman. I asked her when her son was killed and she told me August 18th. I
also asked if there was another fatality in the accident and she said yes. By
this time I had chills all over my body.”
Tiffenii went on to tell, who she now knew as
Teresa Bullard that if
this is the same accident, she was on the scene of the wreck and that
she had a
video of the
event.
“I was stunned,” Teresa said. “My first thought was what ‘are the odds’?”
As it turns out, the
video was indeed from her son’s tragic accident. The phone was immediately
turned over to the proper authorities and given to the Cherokee County District
Attorney.
The two remained in contact from that point on
because sadly,Tiffenii’s oldest brother Clifton was killed in April 1988 by a drunk driver. She said because she knew
from a sibling perspective the pain of losing a loved on to a drunk driver, they
immediately bonded.
“Teresa was obviously hurt and still grieving. So when she
called, I stopped whatever I was doing to talk to her. Sometimes, I didn’t say
anything, I just listened. She was angry at the snail pace of the justice system
and I could tell that her anger was consuming her. She was advised to turn her anger into being
an advocate for her son”.
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| Tiffeni Mumphry standing strong behind Teresa Bullard |
Meanwhile, Tiffenii
had since moved on to working for another nonprofit when she got a phone call
from Teresa one Saturday in July 2013 and she simply said, ‘we need to
talk.’
She said that she wanted to start a nonprofit on behalf of
her son and she had seen the work I had done with other organizations and asked
if I would serve as the Executive Director. Now it was Tiffenii’s turn to be
stunned. She talked with my husband throughout the course
of the weekend and
they reflected on
the timing of
everything.
By Monday morning, Second Chance-Your Choice Incorporated was
born. The mission of the organization is to provide individuals and families with services to empower
them to make healthy lifestyle choices through education, prevention, intervention, mentoring and
counseling.
Teresa said that she
wants the organization to provide a sense of direction for those that want to
turn their life around, but don’t know where to begin. The organization already
has a licensed chemical dependency counselor (LCDC) on staff, and offers their
services and curriculum at no charge to schools in four surrounding counties.
While the two women readily admit, that the organization is taking off at
lightning pace, they are more than ready for the tasks.
Follow Tiffenii Mumphrey on Twitter @Tiffenii
Follow Second Chance Your Choice @SCYC2
