Simon Short and Toni Purchase

1969-2007, 1963-2007.

Simon Short and partner Toni Purchase died together. Marie Purchase, Toni’s eldest daughter, is working with Jos Mason, founder of Bikers Against Drunk Drivers, to remove drunks from the road. Together they are doing a fantastic job to raise awareness and educate the public about the devastating effects of drunk driving.

We are privileged to have Marie's own words about how her world has changed since the crash. In her own words:

“It’s been nearly eight months since that wretched night changed our lives forever.  29th April 2007 I was told that my Mum, her partner Simon and their good friend Leon had been murdered by a drunk driver on their way to Rotorua.

They had set out for a nice days ride on the motorbikes but only a short time into the ride their lives were taken from us by a repetitive drunk driver by the name of Gordon Manu Armstrong.  Selfishly he murdered these three innocent, special and loving people who bought smiles to the faces of everyone around them.  He then died himself and personally I think it was a waste of many innocent lives.

The sentencing of drunk drivers is pathetic and should be dramatically changed.

Drunk drivers are imprisoned for three months on average and then released out into the big wide world again.  This is the equivalent to a parent pointing the finger at their child and simply saying 'Don’t do it again'.  Of course the child is going to go out and do it again.  It’s the same with drunk driving.  The police take the place of the adult and the drunk driver takes the place of the child.

If every drunk driver was given a more realistic penalty maybe this would stop their offending. I personally would like to see drunk drivers imprisoned for life so the chance of them going out and doing it again will be absolute zero because they won't have the chance to get behind the wheel of a vehicle again, let alone under the influence of alcohol."

Marie spoke to her high-school on her experience earlier in 2007.