Shelby Allen was 17, a star athlete, and an honor student, who made one tragic mistake. Affecting the lives of everyone around her, she thought she was invincible.

Shelby, a good girl with a good head on her shoulders, had asked to stay at her friend Alyssa's house one night. No big deal, since her mother Debbie knew both Alyssa and her parents.

Debbie wasn't exactly an easy-going parent either, having a career in law enforcement, and being well know for her strict parenting style. But Alyssa was a good girl, just like Shelby, and although they had been caught a time or two trying to get away with going to a party, she trusted them both, and assumed their rebellion was nothing more than teenage curiosity. 

After a late night stop for tacos though, Shelby and Alyssa received a text from another friend, "Jane". Jane was enjoying the night at home with her parents and older sisters. However, she was drinking, as was everyone else at Jane's house.
Alyssa and Jane soon joined the party, which was well-documented with cell phone pictures. Jane's parents retired around 1:00am, warning the girls not to get into the alcohol, and get to bed at a reasonable hour. 

And that is when the tragedy begins. The girls began to party. Shelby stated that she wanted to drink 15 shots of vodka. The 5'7", 107-pound girl, unknowingly was intending to drink herself to death. 

"I honestly don't know why she got that number in her head," Alyssa said. "Maybe she saw someone do it at a party. Shelby was an athlete [she played volleyball and was on the cross-country track team]; she had a competitive spirit. We all told her it was a bad idea, but she was determined to make that her goal." 

By 1:58 she had reached her goal. Her texts were becoming sloppier and sloppier, which is when she became sick, and headed to the bathroom to vomit. 

After her friends took her to the bathroom she became unresponsive. When Jane saw Shelby convulsing and gagging, she texted a guy friend for help, but when it proved too difficult for him to come over she told him, “nevermind."

Her friends propped her up on the toilet and continued to check on her throughout the night until they fell asleep themselves.
It wasn't until 8:00am the next morning that Jane let her dad know that Shelby wasn't feeling well. Which sounded no alarm since the statement seemed to lack any sense of panic. 

Around an hour later, Alyssa woke up and took notice of her friend's condition. She was still slumped over the toilet, her face covered in blood, and her lip split from violently heaving and hitting it on the toilet seat. Her neck was bruised from resting on the toilet all night , to the point it looked like someone had “strangled” her.. She was completely motionless. 

Alyssa yelled for one of Jane’s older sisters, who called her father to return home. When he saw the state Shelby was in, he called 911 immediately.  The EMTs arrived on scene to a weak pulse and a motionless child.

Shelby Allen was pronounced dead at 9:40am on the morning of December 20, 2008. Her blood alcohol was at .33, four times the legal limit for adults in the state of California. 

After losing a child to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome in 1987, Debbie knew the pain, and would never wish it on her worst enemy. She recalled a memory of her and her daughter from not long before she passed away. 

"Shortly before I lost Shelby, we watched Steel Magnolias together; Shelby, the daughter, dies in the movie, and I remember thinking as I watched my dear girl next to me, How could I be without her? I told my Shelby, 'Don't ever leave this world before I do; I couldn't take it again.' We sat there sobbing together, and she said, 'Mom, don't worry; I won't!'"

What her family was left with was piecing together sloppy text messages and pictures from their daughter's cell phone, and blurry stories from the people with her that night. 

When nothing seemed to make sense anymore, they went to the police. Unfortunately, because of California law, those who choose to imbibe are responsible for the consequences, not those who provide the alcohol. Jane’s parents couldn’t have criminal charges brought against them. And although they believe Jane's decision to not call 911 when Shelby began to convulse should be considered  involuntary manslaughter, a judge did not agree. 

Since Shelby's tragic death, Debbie has dedicated her life to educating other teens and parents on the dangers of drinking. "Shelby's Rules" are something she provides, stating that "Alcohol + Passed out (unresponsive) = 911".

"My daughter made poor choices that night, but teenagers make poor choices. It's our responsibility as adults to help them survive those poor choices."

She continues, "“Life gives you two choices when you suffer a tragedy: Give up or move on. I have a husband and another child to love and take care of. I must move on, for their sake if not mine.”

With Shelby in her heart, Debbie continues to be the voice her daughter no longer has to prove to other teenagers that it’s not just the “wild partiers” who can get themselves into trouble.

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