LIFESTORIES: FAMILIES IN CRISIS: DEAD DRUNK: THE KEVIN TUNELL STORY (TV)
Summary
One in this series of socially conscious docudramas presented by HBO. In this program, 17-year-old Kevin Tunell is arrested and charged with driving under the influence and involuntary manslaughter when he accidentally kills 18-year-old Maggie Glendon in a car collision. Kevin listens to harrowing testimony about Maggie's fatal injuries and testifies to his hazy memories of drinking heavily at a party earlier that night, admitting that he ignored his girlfriend Beth's warnings about driving while intoxicated, having assured her that "nothing ever happens." Given his age and the non-malicious nature of the crime, Kevin is eventually sentenced to supervised probation and a year of community service, and Maggie's family makes another request: that he send them a check for $1 every week for eighteen years, symbolically ensuring that he will never forget about the young life he took.
Sometime later, Kevin has an awkward run-in with Beth, who has since departed for college, and he finds himself unable to stop obsessing over the night of the accident. His lawyer Jim sternly lectures him about keeping up with the checks in a timely manner, and he confesses that the deed is proving very emotionally difficult. Jim advises him to "just forget it," but a guilt-ridden Kevin finds himself experiencing dreams about Maggie in which he begs her "not to go." In desperation, he writes out many years' worth of checks and attempts to send them to the Glendons all at once, but Jim tells him that they will not accept them, as the point of the order is to force him to consider the lifelong consequences of his momentary thoughtlessness. Kevin is hauled back before the judge, who sentences him to 30 days in jail for contempt of court, and upon his release, he resumes sending the weekly checks. The program concludes as the real Kevin Tunell discusses his actions, warning viewers about the dangers of drunk-driving. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: HBO
- DATE: March 2, 1993 12:30 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:30:15
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:35339
- GENRE: Drama
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama; Alcohol and youth; Drinking and traffic accidents; Trials
- SERIES RUN: HBO - TV series, 1992-1996
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Frank Doelger … Producer
- Howard Meltzer … Producer
- Juan José Campanella … Director
- Bruce Harmon … Writer
- Wendy Blackstone … Music by
- Kevin Tunell … Guest
- Sam Rockwell … Cast, Kevin Tunell
- Jane Adams … Cast, Beth
- Jorja Fox … Cast, Maggie Glendon
- Doris Belack … Cast, Judge Ruth Cohen
- Jack Gilpin … Cast, Jim Rendon
- Harriet Sansom Harris … Cast, Attorney Cedall
- Edward James Hyland … Cast, Police Officer Collins