North Carolina Parents Blamed for Teen's Tragic Death from Vehicle Crash

A North Carolina couple and their teenage child face charges for allegedly providing an alcohol to a teen, moments before he died from a terrible car crash, a report on WRAL.com said.

Authorities said Jonathan Gregory Taylor, 18, was served alcohol at a house party at 904 Vance Street, which was owned by the family of Thomas Blake Matthews, 18.

Taylor died from a vehicle crash the same day at Hunting Ridge Road in north Raleigh, the report said. Authorities said Taylor must have been speeding and driving recklessly which lead to his accident.

Alcohol Law Enforcement agents arrested Matthews and his parents Charles Joseph Matthews, 59, a local neurologist, and Kimberley Hunt Matthews, 52. Thomas was charged for buying the alcohol—a bottle of Jack Daniels from a local ABC shop—for the party while his parents were each charged of four counts of aiding and abetting underage drinking.

“Underage drinking is not safe, and it's not the case that somehow the risk is removed because the parents provided it,” Michael Hilton, acting deputy director for epidemiology and prevention research at the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, told the Wall Street Journal in 2011.

Another health expert added to Hilton’s statement. “This unfortunate tragedy is important to share as it may make parents think twice before allowing their teenager to have a house party with alcohol,” said Brady Grainier, Chief Operating Officer of  BioCorRx, Inc. BICX. BioCorRx, Inc. is an addiction treatment companythat licenses and distributes its alcohol and opioid addiction treatment program, called the Start Fresh Program, to clinics across America.

The program uses a biodegradable implant formulation of naltrexone, which curbs an addict’s physical cravings for opioid drugs and alcohol for several months, and a series of private, one-on-one life coaching sessions to help recovering addicts plan for a life free from substance abuse. (Learn more information about the program via phone: 714-462-4880, or by visiting www.startfreshprogram.com).

A study conducted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration in 2011found almost six percent of teens aged 12 to 14 “drank alcohol in the past month,” according to the Journal. It added that almost 45 percent of them got the alcohol from home, while 16 percent claimed they got it from a parent or guardian. Around 700,000 middle-school teens participated in the study. 

“This report isn't designed to say, 'Bad parents!' It's designed to say, ‘Here's an issue you should pay attention to’,” said Peter Delany, director of SAMHSA's Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality. “When kids under age 15 start drinking and drinking heavily, they are about six times more likely to end up with alcohol problems.”

The Journal also noted that some parents think underage drinking is “inevitable” and that warning their kids to keep off alcohol “doesn't stand a chance” against peer pressure and alcohol advertisements. Citing data from the 2009 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, the report also noted that at age 21, around 86 percent of U.S. teens have tried alcohol, and 50 percent engage in binge drinking.