Simsbury Man Talks to Students About the Dangers of Drinking and Driving

By Michael Hayes

Less than 24 hours removed from taking off his electronic monitoring bracelet, Austin Buckmann delivered a clear message to Coginchaug High School students in Durham last week.

"It's something you guys don't ever want to go through," he told them.

Buckmann, of Simsbury, was invited by Middlefield Resident Trooper Eric Kelly to speak to students about the dangers and consequences of drinking and driving and to share the experience that changed his life forever.

"The past two years have been extremely rough for me," Buckmann said. "It's messed with my head a lot. I'm definitely not the same person I was when I graduated high school. My entire adult life has been consumed by stress."

On June 26, 2011, Buckmann, then 18, was drunk when he lost control of his car and slammed into a telephone pole about a mile from his parent's home. His friend, 17-year-old Tommy Tanski, was killed in the crash.

The accident happened a week after Buckmann graduated from Simsbury High School. Before the crash, he had plans to move to Texas to be a firefighter. 

Nearly two years later, the 20-year-old is a convicted felon and admits that his future is uncertain. He recently served four months in prison and an additional four months probation after pleading no contest to second-degree manslaughter in Tanski's death.

Buckmann's lenient sentence is attributed to the fact that Tanski's parents, Chris and Tom, have forgiven him. In fact, the couple has found the strength to accept Buckmann as if he were their own son.

"These were people that I never knew. They never even heard of my name until I took their son's life," Buckmann said.

During Wednesday's assembly, Buckmann introduced Chris and his own mother, Valerie, who said she still struggles knowing what happened because of her son and the pain it caused the Tanski family.

For now, the two families find solace in the hope that Austin reaches at least one teenager before it's too late.

"You guys are going to need to start making good decisions. You can't get behind the wheel of a car if you've been drinking," he said.

Instead, Buckmann recommended that students call a sober friend, a teacher, or even, their parents.

"The consequences are a lot less compared to taking away someone's life," he said.

After the assembly, Buckmann and Chris Tanski handed out bracelets bearing her son's birth date and date of death and asked students to pledge not to drink and drive.