A single-vehicle crash changed her life. Now she strives to be a living warning against impaired driving

Nearly 20 years ago, Lynette Welch was into her second straight day of drinking when she climbed behind the wheelof her Chevy truck and drove from herbrother's house to make a run to the liquor store.

It was Aug. 10, 2000. Welch was 31 years old andmarriedwith two young children, living inher hometown of Williams Lake, B.C.

Welch turned herpickup down Horsefly Road, a long, winding backroadwithworn centrelines and gravelshoulders leading into grassyditches. Speeding, shelost control on a curve.

The Chevylurched offthe road and rolled four times, the cab crushed a little morewith every rotation. No one else was involved or hurt in the single-vehicle crash, but Welch arrived at the hospital braindead and only survived after emergency surgery.

Welch hasn't driven since thatcrash nearly 20 years ago. She lives alone on disability in an apartment in Williams Lake, unable to work because of her traumatic brain injury and a paralyzed arm. She has trouble with her memory and, in her words, she doesn't walk correctly.

She's 51 years old,divorced and seldom sees her two grown children.

Welch posts old photos of the wreck and its backstory several times a year, especially around the holidays, warning othershow much they can lose,or take away from someone else, if they choose to drive drunk like she did.

"I lost my life, in a sense," said Welch, speaking by phone from her home. "That's what people need to realize: It costs you so much and it could cost other people, too."

Welch was an alcoholic at the time of the crash, drinking in secret in her laundry room as a way to cope with stress and a failing marriage. She worked as a licensed daycare provider.

Shesaid the choiceto drive the day of the crash wasn't really a conscious decision at all.She just did it because she felt she could.

"I just drank because I got away with it...I never, ever was confronted about it," Welch said.

Welch was in a coma for more than a month after the crash. She and her ex-husband separated soon after.

Welch lost custody of her children after the crash, a ruling Welch attributes to her history of alcohol abuse. The children and their father soonmoved out of province and don't often return to B.C.

"I have a bit of a relationship [with my kids], but nothing like I could have had, that's for sure," said Welch. "Now they call their step-mom 'Mom.'"

Welch dumped her last drink down the kitchen sink on Sept. 22, 2003. She spent years speaking to teenagers in her communitythrough thePrevent Alcohol and Risk-related Trauma in Youth program, known as theP.A.R.T.Y. program, whichruns throughout B.C. to exposeyoung peopleto the dangers of impaired driving by showing them the potential consequences.

Impaired driving is the third-leading cause of crashes in B.C., behind distracted driving and speeding. One-third of deadly crashes in the province between 2008 and 2016 involved drugs or alcohol, according to the BCCoroners Service.

Now, Welchposts her story on Facebook and encourages others to share it with their networks.

"It always brings back memories of my decision whenever I share on Facebook, but it's more important that peoplesee the message," she said.

"I'm not just standing, shaking my finger, saying you really shouldn't drink and drive ... You can see, physically, with me, why not to drink and drive."

"I lost one life when I crashed that truck and even if I reach one person I think that's why I was maybe allowed to live."