Have you ever forgotten to fasten your seat belt? Let that be the last time you forget. Saturday, August 27, 2005, was the last day my cousin Greg did anything because of the one thing he didn’t do: put on his seat belt.

The only thing that runs through my head is why - why did Greg’s legs have to be shattered like a broken glass when he was most valuable player of any team he played on? Why did his skull and brain have to be crushed? He was always on the honor roll. Why did something so horrible happen to such a good guy, a guy who would say hi to you even if he had a bad day? I simply can’t understand. Why did every bone in his face have to be broken, so that it looked like he was beat to death with a baseball bat? Greg was so handsome.

Greg was the type of guy everyone wanted to be around. He was nice, funny, smart, outgoing, athletic and had a great heart. Greg’s passion was soccer and he used his free time to help coach a junior high team. In everything he did, he gave 110 percent. Everyone says God had a plan for Greg, but I don’t understand why He had to take his life. Greg was a caring 19-year-old, and I simply can’t understand.

This is no joke - my cousin is dead, and he’s dead because he didn’t put on his seat belt. It is hard to think my cousin Greg went through so much pain that he couldn’t even scream.

This is a warning to all of you who do not wear a seat belt. Know that your life can be taken in a second. So, buckle up, and, as Greg would have said, “Live life in the slow lane, enjoy each and every moment.”