thedrifter
10-27-08, 09:29 AM
Ready to go to war, he died near home
A friend, driving drunk, lost control
By Meg Kissinger of the Journal Sentinel
Posted: Oct. 26, 2008
Sobering Reminders
Like many kids his age, Adam Ludwigson loved to snowboard and dreamed of becoming a rock 'n' roll star.
"He used to practice his guitar for hours in the basement," his mother, Cindi Ludwigson, said.
All that changed one day in September 2001. Adam, then 16, was horrified watching TV as the World Trade Towers fell.
Adam made a pledge to do what he could to bring those responsible to justice. He joined the Marines the first chance he could and graduated early from high school.
He trained in Hawaii and was shipping off to Afghanistan. He came home to Bloomer the first week of May 2005 to say goodbye.
"We were scared, but proud, too," Cindi said.
Adam had a great time catching up with his buddies. He was 19 - not old enough to legally drink beer in a bar in Wisconsin. Still, his parents didn't mind when he told them he was going to The Pines, a nearby tavern where his sister, Ashley, worked as a bartender.
"He was old enough to go to war," his mother said.
The call came before dawn, not from the Marines, but from a Chippewa County sheriff's deputy. There had been an accident.
They waited at the hospital for hours before the terrible truth came.
Adam was dead. So was his friend, Kelly Hartman. Adam's cousin, Mike, was injured.
They had all been in Ryan Rubenzer's car. Rubenzer was drunk when his car careened out of control, hitting a stand of trees. His blood-alcohol level registered 0.19, more than twice the legal limit.
The Ludwigsons had planned a party later that day to send their son off to Afghanistan in style.
Instead, they had a funeral.
Ashley Ludwigson was cited for selling alcohol to an underage patron in connection with her brother's death. She pleaded guilty and was fined $249.
Rubenzer pleaded guilty to two counts of homicide by use of a vehicle with a prohibited alcohol concentration.
A bittersweet ending
The Ludwigsons went to the sentencing and held up a photo of their son to show what grief had come of Rubenzer's drunken driving. But they weren't allowed to speak.
Rubenzer was sentenced to 18 months in prison and 300 hours of community service.
Under terms of his probation and extended supervision, for 6 1/2 years he is prohibited from entering a bar or liquor store and is to maintain utter sobriety.
Cindi occasionally thinks about where her son would be if he had lived.
"They told me that he was up for a promotion to corporal," she said.
Sometimes, tragedy spawns triumph.
The Marines sent Wade Mayhew, Adam's roommate and best friend, to Bloomer for the funeral. That's where he and Ashley fell in love.
They were married two years ago.
Ellie
A friend, driving drunk, lost control
By Meg Kissinger of the Journal Sentinel
Posted: Oct. 26, 2008
Sobering Reminders
Like many kids his age, Adam Ludwigson loved to snowboard and dreamed of becoming a rock 'n' roll star.
"He used to practice his guitar for hours in the basement," his mother, Cindi Ludwigson, said.
All that changed one day in September 2001. Adam, then 16, was horrified watching TV as the World Trade Towers fell.
Adam made a pledge to do what he could to bring those responsible to justice. He joined the Marines the first chance he could and graduated early from high school.
He trained in Hawaii and was shipping off to Afghanistan. He came home to Bloomer the first week of May 2005 to say goodbye.
"We were scared, but proud, too," Cindi said.
Adam had a great time catching up with his buddies. He was 19 - not old enough to legally drink beer in a bar in Wisconsin. Still, his parents didn't mind when he told them he was going to The Pines, a nearby tavern where his sister, Ashley, worked as a bartender.
"He was old enough to go to war," his mother said.
The call came before dawn, not from the Marines, but from a Chippewa County sheriff's deputy. There had been an accident.
They waited at the hospital for hours before the terrible truth came.
Adam was dead. So was his friend, Kelly Hartman. Adam's cousin, Mike, was injured.
They had all been in Ryan Rubenzer's car. Rubenzer was drunk when his car careened out of control, hitting a stand of trees. His blood-alcohol level registered 0.19, more than twice the legal limit.
The Ludwigsons had planned a party later that day to send their son off to Afghanistan in style.
Instead, they had a funeral.
Ashley Ludwigson was cited for selling alcohol to an underage patron in connection with her brother's death. She pleaded guilty and was fined $249.
Rubenzer pleaded guilty to two counts of homicide by use of a vehicle with a prohibited alcohol concentration.
A bittersweet ending
The Ludwigsons went to the sentencing and held up a photo of their son to show what grief had come of Rubenzer's drunken driving. But they weren't allowed to speak.
Rubenzer was sentenced to 18 months in prison and 300 hours of community service.
Under terms of his probation and extended supervision, for 6 1/2 years he is prohibited from entering a bar or liquor store and is to maintain utter sobriety.
Cindi occasionally thinks about where her son would be if he had lived.
"They told me that he was up for a promotion to corporal," she said.
Sometimes, tragedy spawns triumph.
The Marines sent Wade Mayhew, Adam's roommate and best friend, to Bloomer for the funeral. That's where he and Ashley fell in love.
They were married two years ago.
Ellie