SOUTH COUNTY : Marines Get Close-Up of Driving Tragedy

The last time Mitzi Paul drove on Camp Pendleton, a drunken Marine plowed into her vehicle head-on.

Now, her mother must shuttle the 26-year-old quadriplegic woman around. Thursday, two years after the wreck, Paul was back at Camp Pendleton to calmly face 1,500 Marines as a living example of the dangers of drinking and driving.

“This was no accident,� the Dana Point woman told Marines, who sat on a grandstand during a safety fair that included talks by the California Highway Patrol and other agencies.

From a wheelchair, Paul spoke of the frustrations that have filled her life since the crash on Jan. 19, 1993. Simple tasks, such as dressing herself, are not possible, Paul said.

Meanwhile, the Marine convicted in the crash has been released from the brig after serving 13 months of an 18-month sentence, Paul said. He was also discharged.

“I wonder if he thinks of me when he gets up in the morning,� she said. “I think of him every morning when I can’t get out of bed. I’m serving a life sentence in a body I can’t control.�

Afterward, a knot of Marines surrounded Paul, shook her hand and offered emotional support.

“I don’t know if I would be able to do something like this,� Lance Cpl. Shannon Trotter said to Paul.

Trotter, a 24-year-old Marine from Oklahoma, said that Paul’s testimonial held special meaning for him because his uncle was killed by a drunk driver.

“A lot of people who were sitting in my area made a lot of comments,� Trotter said. “It hit them right in the heart. Just like a fellow Marine said, ‘It hurts to know that one of us did it.’ �