Rick,
I have done alot of research over the last several months and ran across your webpage today. I thank you first for putting it out there. As hard and depressing as it can be at times, if it can make a difference to even a handful of people it is worth it. My story is as all a horrible tale. My Aunt Barbara Urban was killed on Aug. 10, 2000 by an 81 yr. old drunk driver heading the wrong way down the Hwy. The drunk driver also killed himself. My aunt's entire family was also in the vehicle at the time of the crash. Her husband Todd sustained major severe injuries but has recovered almost entirely at this time. They had 3 boys. 5 yr. old Marcus at the time of the crash was left paralyzed from the chest down. He was getting ready to start kindergarten that month. He is now forced to a new lifestyle, one that's much harder and without their Mother. They also had 2 yr. old twin boys Brett & Michael. Michael was the luckiest only receiving minor injuries and being released after a few days to relatives. Brett however was the worst survivor. He was directly behind my aunt in the vehicle and his car seat was completely shattered. He broke every arm & leg and had massive head trauma. They didn't know if he would survive. The Dr.s did lose him for about 20 minutes on the operating table we were told but somehow they brought him back to us. They are still unsure how much he will recover. We were told that he would never talk again as they removed several parts of the brain that were too damaged. He only this week on Tues. underwent more surgery to reconstruct his skull. So far he has had about 6 brain operation, not all going very well. This time things were going well at first, but now I have heard he is not eating or drinking and has developed a fever they are unsure what is causing the fever. Our family is praying that he can get through this last step and somehow come out okay. He had began to make tremendous recovery before. He was starting to walk a little bit on his own, and would eat a little by himself. It has been a horrible ordeal for our entire families to go through. My Uncle I know is hurting so much but he seems to take things day by day though we're unsure how much he has actually grieved yet. I pray he gets the strength to make it through somehow. My Aunt Barb was a beautiful person. She had done so much for me throughout my life but especially within the last year of her life, helping with my wedding plans, and due to a complication with my last pregnancy I was hospitalized for 2 months, she visited, sent clothes for my son, who was born only 20 days before her death. She never had the opportunity to see him. I will never get over her loss, and forever hope somehow, someone will think twice about all the lives that can be affected each time they make the wrong choice to get behind the wheel.

Friday, August 11, 2000
By John Weiss

The Post-Bulletin

PINE ISLAND -- A Rosemount, Minn., woman and a Kenyon man were killed Thursday when the Kenyon man, who was driving his car the wrong way on U.S. 52, collided head-on with the sport utility vehicle in which the woman was a passenger.

The State Patrol said Barbara Ann Urban, 38, of Rosemount and Orvin Joel Rolland, 81, of Kenyon were dead at the scene about two miles north of Pine Island.The woman's three children and her husband were also injured. Todd Michael Urban, 34, is in serious condition at Saint Marys Hospital while Marcus Urban, 5, and Brett Urban, 2, are reported in critical condition at Mayo Eugenio Litta Children's Hospital in Rochester, according to a Mayo Clinic spokeswoman. Michael Urban, 2, is in good condition at the children's hospital.

The patrol said Rolland was driving north in the southbound lane when the two vehicles collided. Rolland had been going the wrong way for at least a few miles and some other drivers had used cell phones to call the patrol to report the problem, said Capt. Dave Graham, head of the patrol in this region. Troopers were not able to respond fast enough to stop the accident, he said. The accident was reported at 5:02 p.m.

Alcohol was found in Rolland's vehicle, he said. The patrol is waiting for test results to determine if alcohol was a factor in the crash, he said.

Todd Urban was driving south on the highway and didn't see Rolland's vehicle until the last second because another vehicle was in front of him and swerved to avoid Rolland's car, Graham said. Because of the speed at which the two vehicles were approaching, Urban didn't have time to react, Graham said.

This is the second head-on collision with one car going the wrong way on U.S. 52 in that area in the past five months.

The Post-Bulletin

RED WING -- A Kenyon man was intoxicated when he drove the wrong way on U.S. 52 north of Pine Island Aug. 10 and his car collided head-on with a sport utility vehicle, killing him and a woman in the SUV, according to the death certificate.

The certificate for Orvin Joel Rolland, 81, was filed Friday in Goodhue District Court by Dr. Lindsey Thomas, county coroner, according to the county recorders office.

Rolland died from "multiple blunt force injuries" because of the collision, the certificate states. But it adds that another significant condition contributing to the death, but which was not the cause of death, was "acute alcohol intoxication." Acute intoxication means his blood-alcohol level was at least .10. The certificate does not give the exact level.

Barbara Ann Urban, 38, of Rosemount, Minn., who was a passenger in the SUV, also died at the scene of the accident. Her husband, Todd, 34, who was driving, is reported in good condition today at Saint Marys Hospital in Rochester, while two of their children, Marcus Urban, 5, and Brett Urban, 2, are in serious condition at Mayo Eugenio Litta Children's Hospital in Rochester. A third child, Michael Urban, 2, was released from the hospital a few days after the accident.

At the time of accident, Rolland was driving north in the southbound lane of the highway about two miles north of Pine Island, according to the State Patrol. He was in the wrong lane for at least two miles and other drivers used cell phones to call the patrol to report the problem, said Capt. Dave Graham, head of the patrol in this region. Troopers could not reach the highway fast enough to stop Rolland.

About two miles north of Pine Island, Todd Urban was driving south in southbound lane of the highway, following another vehicle. The other vehicle swerved to avoid Rolland's car and Urban didn't have time to react to avoid a collision, Graham said.

The wrong-way crash that killed Barbara Urban last month was just the beginning of her family's heartache.

The crash also left her oldest son Marcus, 5, paralyzed from the chest down. Her 2-year-old son Brett is in a coma, and part of his brain and skull were removed. They're still in Saint Marys Hospital, with their father Todd, 38, whose right leg was smashed, his left wrist broken, his right shoulder dislocated. Brett's twin brother Michael had minor injuries and was released from the hospital soon after the crash.

Todd Urban's sister, Kriste Cook, said the family is focusing on helping the boys, and on planning the funeral for Barbara Urban, which is Friday. But Cook expects the medical bills to pile up, as the family faces years of physical therapy and probably lifelong help for Marcus. Cook has started a fund to help the family. To draw attention to the need, she's talked to reporters in Rochester and Janesville, Wis., where the Urbans lived before moving to Rosemount, Minn.

"It's a life-changing event," Cook said of the crash. "There are going to be major expenses for the rest of their lives."

Cook said Todd Urban works for The St. Paul Cos., an insurance firm, and the family has insurance. But it's not clear how long that will last, and Cook believes the Urbans will exhaust their insurance's maximum.

The crash happened Aug. 10 when an 81-year-old Kenyon man drove the wrong way on U.S. 52. Authorities later established the driver was drunk. Other cars had swerved out of the way, but Todd Urban, at the wheel of his family's sport utility vehicle, didn't have time. The crash also killed the wrong-way driver.

The Urbans were on their way to Janesville to leave their children with Todd's parents while they went to a weekend softball tournament.

Cook said the boys' plight has caused strangers to send cards and balloons to their room at Saint Marys. "We don't even know these people. It's just been unbelievable," Cook said. "That's really what's helped pull us through, the prayers and the thoughts."

Just the idea that the kids need so much upsets Cook.

"He shouldn't have to need for anything," she said of Marcus. "He's 5. He's a kid. He doesn't even understand. He doesn't have a mother, and now he can't act like a normal kid."

Cook has to choke back tears when she talks about the boys. And she tries to balance the horror they're experiencing now with the idea of better days ahead. Thinking about Brett, she said, "He was just the smiliest, happiest kid, and one day he will be again."

"I believe that. I believe that."