WSMV Channel 4 Woman shares story of DUI, fatal wreck to warn students

Woman shares story of DUI, fatal wreck to warn students

Her crime cost a man his life, and now, Katrina Cornwell is serving part of her sentence by sharing her story.

Cornwell was drunk behind the wheel when she hit and killed Eddie McCreery along I-40 more than two years ago.

Friday, a group of Portland High School students heard the details and the bigger message.

In telling her story to the students, Cornwall delved deeply into her past, hoping to keep what led to her deadly decision from happening to anyone else.

"I started drinking when I was about 15 years old," Cornwell said. "I was always under the influence of something."

The story is not pretty, but it needs to be told, partly because it is her sentence and partly because it is now Katrina Cornwell's calling.

"I am not an evil person. I did not wake up one day and set out to kill someone. I made a very, very crucial mistake. And that mistake cost Eddie McCreery his life," Cornwell said.

It was Oct. 22, 2009 when a night out with friends turned deadly. Cornwell hit and killed McCreery, a tow truck driver who was stopped along I-40 to help his daughter Faith who had car trouble.

"And then there was an impact. I had hit something," Cornwell said.

A judge then gave Cornwell a unique sentence. She serves time in jail during the weeks of Christmas and Father's Day.

She also shares her story on two specific days, Feb. 10 and Oct. 22, McCreery's birthday and the day he died.

"His death stands for something today. It stands for a message to teenagers not to drink and drive," Cornwell said.

At Portland High, students got the message. Cornwell shared the 911 call and the media coverage of her crime.

Reliving what happened doesn't get any easier with time, but a woman who lost so much has not lost the desire to try to right the wrong.

"I lost my home. I lost my car and basically lost my kids," Cornwell said. "I am not a bad person. I just made a really bad mistake."

Cornwell used to be a newspaper reporter. Now, she works at Goodwill.

And she has been sober since the accident.

Cornwell will soon take her message to Metro Schools, including Hunters Lane where she is an alumna, and Cane Ridge where a student died earlier this school year in a crash connected to drunk driving.

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