DEE ANN HANEY–UPDATE

Editor’s Note: On Thursday evening, The Texas City La Marque Chamber Held a Public Forum to allow
the candidates running for Commissioner-At-Large to voice their opinions on a variety of issues. At the
end of the forum, the topic of the accident in which Dee Ann Haney was involved last June. Concerned
that her response was “not my best”, she offers the following:
“I don’t feel like I got my message across .Obviously, this is a sensitive subject
for me. You don’t go through an accident where there is loss of life and
not question everything that happened. You certainly don’t go through something
like that without feelings of guilt and remorse, even when you know
there was nothing you could have done differently. It is a tragedy and my
pain doesn’t begin to compare to that of those who lost their loved ones and
I don’t feel right talking about it. So, when it is suggested I feel no remorse, I
guess I kind of bristle. I always have heard that everyone deals with tragedy
differently and I guess it is true. The shock of the accident was so intense I
can’t even explain what I felt or what I was thinking. I just know when the police
arrived, and for a few hours after, I tried to answer their questions as honestly and accurately
as I could. Turns out that wasn’t so good for me because what stuck in everyone’s mind was not
that the breathalyzer showed all zeros or the toxicology screen came back with all negative results
for all illegal substances. What they remember is that they tested me and took me in.
As far as my ability to do the job, I have not been indicted and am scheduled to appear before
the Grand Jury next week. I don’t know what is going to happen, but I expect to be fully exonerated.
The truth is, none of us know from one day to the next what may happen. I certainly never
expected to go through something like this and will live with it for the rest of my life. I have chosen
to not let it define me or keep me from doing the important work I have done all these years for my
City. Heaven forbid any of us have something major to face in the coming years. But life happens.
I do not believe I have done anything to embarrass the office I hold and respect so much. I have
faced this challenge the best way I know how and have been honest from the very beginning. I am
sure I could have handled things better, but don’t know how. There is a saying “Walk a mile in my
shoes…” I would pray that no one ever has to walk in mine because it isn’t easy and there is no
good resolution at the end, if there even is an end. I was not being irresponsible when this terrible
tragedy happened. In fact, I was returning home from responding to an emergency at work. I was
not impaired in any way and I deeply regret the accident occurred.