Warning: “Don’t let this happen to your family”
There was only a phone number on the post-it note stuck on the front door that warm Sunday morning in June 2014.
That phone number led to another number and the news no family wants to hear. Son and brother, Philip Lutzenkirchen, 28 days short of his 23rd birthday, was dead.
Tears flowed, knees hit the floor, and one sister’s scream was so loud a neighbor came to see what could have happened.
The Troup County, Georgia, had delivered the solemn message, “Philip is dead.”
The family’s life changed forever, and from that change grew a determination no other family should have to suffer the same.
Mike Lutzenkirchen and the Lutzie 43 Foundation brought the message, “don’t let this happen to your family,” to Fannin County High School Tuesday, March 25.
Every student heard what can happen from drunk and distracted driving. If they were listening closely, they heard the devastating emotion still coming from Mike’s voice more than ten years later.
The story began the night before when a drunk driving crash killed Philip. He was a passenger in a Chevrolet Tahoe with three other friends.
Mike told how a large group had gathered on a South Georgia farm for the weekend.
One in the group had decided he had to go to the store for dip. On the way back, the driver went through a stop sign at 77 miles per hour. There was no road on the other side, only a small bank that sent the vehicle end over end, 450 feet through the air. Philip’s blood alcohol content was .377. He was a passenger in the back seat.
The last picture Mike saw of his son is engraved in his memory: a stick figure on the police report with DOA above his head.
“I don’t want your parents to ever have a post-it note on your front door,” he told Fannin County students after reliving the tragedy.
He told how Lutzie 43 was there to “help you become better, safer, smarter young drivers,” which is all about making the right choices.
The foundation promotes “45 seconds to complete the safe driving checklist: clear head, clear hands, clear eyes, click it,” when getting in a vehicle.
“Wear your seatbelt,” Mike repeated over and over to students.
He also told students that passengers in a vehicle are just as important as the driver, and they too make choices.
Mike told how Philip had always been a leader, always responsible. He was not mad at his son, but could not understand why Philip had not been a leader – everyone’s keys should have been put away when the weekend began.
Figures presented by the Georgia Department of Transportation, host of the event, reflected how important the message is for Fannin County. Out of 159 counties in Georgia, Fannin ranks 46th in total crashes involving 15- to 19-year olds, ahead of even Fulton County. Fannin also ranks 66th in serious injury crashes involving the same age group.
Emily Dunn, GDOT board member, introduced the presentation by saying the Lutzenkirchen family had taken “a very painful experience and turned it into something good,” as she encouraged students at the beginning of the event to learn from what they would hear.