The former Olympic diver, who killed two bay area teenagers while driving drunk 16 years ago, wants his license back.
By SUSAN TAYLOR MARTIN
Published October 27, 2004
JOLIET, Ill. - It's been 16 years since he killed two Tampa Bay teenagers while driving drunk, but former Olympic diving star Bruce Kimball says he still thinks about the accident every day.
And now that he is a father, Kimball says he understands the anguish of losing a child.
"It's a little clearer how I'd feel if my own kids were taken away - it's helped me to make some changes in my life I needed to make before," he said Monday.
His comment - delivered in a soft, impassive tone - came in a hearing to determine if he should get an Illinois driver's license even though a Florida judge permanently revoked his driving privileges.
Now 41 and a high school teacher in suburban Chicago, Kimball has been sober since the 1988 accident and would pose no threat if allowed to drive again, his attorney said.
But a lawyer for the Illinois Secretary of State's office seemed skeptical. He noted Kimball's own testimony that his wife keeps wine at home and that he is also exposed to liquor at her parents' house, wedding receptions and restaurants.
"Even though he is an alcoholic he goes to places where alcohol is served," attorney Jesse Prince said.
And Kimball, who has completed Alcoholics Anonymous' 12-step recovery program, acknowledged that "when I drink my life is unmanageable."
Asked if he could guarantee that he would never use alcohol or illegal drugs again, he cited the AA principle: "I live only one day at a time. I've not used (anything) today and when I get up tomorrow I'll make that commitment again."
In 2002 a hearing officer denied his request to get an Illinois license, partly because of an evaluation showing that his history of binge drinking and other behaviors put him in the "high risk" category.
Monday's 90-minute hearing in a small room with just five people was a far cry from the media circus in 1989 when Kimball went on trial in Hillsborough County. Winner of the 1984 Olympic silver medal in platform diving, he had been at a Brandon swim club training for the '88 Olympics when he went to a bar after practice.
Deputies said Kimball was driving up to 90 mph and had a blood alcohol level of 0.20, twice the legal limit then, when he plowed into a crowd of teenagers on a dark road, killing Robbie Bedell and Kevin Gossic and injuring several others. The photos put into evidence were so gory Kimball said he could not proceed with a trial, and pleaded guilty.
A judge sentenced him to 17 years in prison, where, he told hearing officer Laurel Palmer, he began to turn his life around. He voluntarily joined AA because he realized "I need other people if I'm going to maintain my sobriety."
With time off for good behavior, Kimball was released less than five years into his sentence. He moved to Chicago, where his fiancee lived, and got his bachelor's degree. For the past five years he has been a physical education teacher at New Trier High, rated one of Illinois' top public schools.
Kimball said he doesn't hide his past, and speaks to students about the consequences of abusing drugs and alcohol.
He also attends an average of two AA meetings a week, though he has missed some because he was unable to get a ride.
The last time he had a "serious urge" to drink, Kimball said, was when he was released from custody. Asked what could trigger his drinking, he acknowledged he struggles with change, such as moving to a new home last weekend with his wife, who is a doctor, and their two young sons.
"But when I go through a difficult time, I return to (AA's) third step and go ... to God and pray over it," he said.
Prince, representing the Secretary of State's office, zeroed in on Kimball's testimony that he is around people who drink, including his wife and in-laws. Prince said Kimball might have violated his probation by failing to get written permission every time he visits a place where liquor is served.
But lawyer Larry Davis said Kimball keeps his probation officer apprised of what he is doing.
"I've represented thousands of people who are recovering alcoholics," Davis said, "and to suggest they can't live with people who drink, that they can't go to weddings or go to a restaurant is absurd."
Also at issue was whether the late Florida judge who sentenced Kimball intended for him never to drive again. Florida court documents state "driver's license revoked permanently," but Kimball said he understood that to mean his driving privileges were revoked only in Florida.
"Did you agree not to drive anywhere, not just Florida?" Prince asked.
"No, sir," Kimball replied.
Florida and Illinois are members of the national Driver License Agreement, which promotes highway safety through states sharing driver and conviction information. Illinois officials say that Kimball's Florida conviction precludes him from getting an Illinois license.
However, Kimball has argued that because he never had a license in Florida or Illinois - only in his native Michigan - Illinois can't deny him driving privileges.
Among the exhibits introduced Monday were letters of support for Kimball from AA members, school colleagues and others. While conceding the accident was "horrendous," his attorney said Kimball has lived his life since then "in a way that honors the people he killed or injured."
But the state's evidence includes a letter from April Bruffy, whose leg was permanently deformed in the accident, opposing Kimball's license request. And another victim says he is "kind of torn" about whether Kimball should drive again.
"You've got to give somebody credit for hanging in there and trying to make things better," said R.J. Kerker, who had to give up his dream of playing college soccer when his leg was nearly severed. "I would say, "Yeah, go ahead and give him the license,' but what if something happens again?"
Kimball will be notified of the hearing officer's decision by mail, likely within 60 days. If his petition is denied, he can appeal again.
"The most important thing in my life is to maintain my sobriety," he said. "Without that I'm incapable of doing anything."
