For Carol Oschin, the grief of losing her youngest child to a drunk driver never gets easier.
As contributing author of a new book, Oschin hopes sharing the story of her son — former child actor Jordan Oschin — will prevent needless heartbreak in other families.
“I want the whole world to know when you are drunk, it’s not an accident — it’s intentional,” Oschin said Friday.
The Woodland Hills mother, who has three other children, will be at Barnes and Noble in Thousand Oaks at 160 S. Westlake Blvd. from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday to sign the book called “Grief Diaries: Loss by Impaired Driving.” The book features 16 stories of people from around the world who have survived the loss of a loved one to a drunk, drugged or distracted driver.
Jordan Oschin, 32, of Woodland Hills, was crossing north on Burbank Boulevard about 40 feet east of Farralone Avenue on Feb. 14, 2014 when he was struck by a Ford Explorer, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. He was not far from the Burbank and Farralone intersection, which is considered to be an unmarked crosswalk and a legal place to cross, but detectives said he crossed outside of it and thus was jaywalking.
Jordan had been hit so hard that he was knocked out of his shoes, his mother said at the time, and she could see that his body had been dragged or carried by the car many feet before it stopped.
Driver Randy Goodman, of Woodland Hills, was convicted for driving under the influence, sentenced to 180 days in jail and was fined $1,000, according to Rob Wilcox, a spokesman with the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office.
Jordan Oschin started acting at age 5, became a pianist at age 6 and gave concerts, then went on to play the guitar, the drums, violin, and viola, his mother said. He opened a music studio at the age of 15. Among the TV and movie credits to his name are appearances in “The Wonder Years,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “General Hospital.” He also is known for starring in “The Killing Jar” (1997), “A Place to Be Loved” (1993) and “The Little CHP” (1995).
The book is largely written by best-selling author Lynda Cheldelin Fell and Bill and Julie Downs, founders of AVIDD, Advocates for Victims of Impaired/Distracted Driving. It also includes a foreword by Candace Lightner, founder of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) and We Save Lives, an international coalition that aims to prevent crashes and crimes from drunk, drugged and distracted driving through legislative efforts and grassroots organizing.
