a message of hope

I was wondering how they are doing now and Im happy to see he re-married and Justin is now 27 and still going around the world speaking to teens.


A Message Of Hope
TAMPA - While he watched a preview tape of the Hallmark movie about events that changed his life, it all came back to Bruce Murakami.

The former Tampa resident revisited his last conversation with his wife and daughter; the fiery car crash that took their lives; the years of seeking justice; and the day he forgave the then-19-year-old driver who caused the accident.

"I had to push the pause button several times to gain my composure," he says. "There was a whole flood of emotions. It was like reliving it all over again."

The movie, "Crossroads: A Story of Forgiveness," starring Dean Cain, debuts at 9 tonight on CBS.

Murakami, who lives in St. Pete Beach, says the Hallmark Hall of Fame movie is not a sad story.

"It has a powerful message about how to turn tragedy into hope," he says.

The film re-creates the day in 1998 when Murakami's wife, Cindy, and his 11-year-old daughter, Chelsea, died.

A car speeding down Hillsborough Avenue slammed into the minivan Cindy Murakami was driving. The van burst into flames. The other driver, Justin Cabezas, was drag racing.

The crash happened near the Murakami home. Bruce Murakami arrived at the scene only to see his family perish in the fire.

"It changed my life in so many ways," he says.

Murakami spent three years and thousands of dollars trying to get Cabezas prosecuted. He also wanted to prove that his wife, who had pulled out of a Publix parking lot, was not even partly at fault.

"Then I had an epiphany and realized that it would do no good for this young man to go to jail," he says. "I had to move on myself because it was consuming me and I wasn't functioning. If I didn't forgive him, I would have become the third victim."

The film recounts how Murakami started Safe Teen Driver Inc., a nonprofit organization that promotes responsible driving.

"It was a way to honor Cindy and Chelsea, who would have been forgotten if we had not done this," he says.

Murakami also helped Cabezas avoid jail after he pleaded guilty to manslaughter. He was sentenced to community service, working in Murakami's organization.

Cabezas, now 27 and a farrier, has stayed with Safe Teen long after he served his time. Today, Murakami and Cabezas travel the country speaking to teenagers about the dangers of reckless behavior behind the wheel.

Murakami, who recently remarried, works with Safe Teen Driver full time. "I do believe we have saved lives," he says.

He says he has received a lot of offers to turn his story into a film but he didn't want the story "Hollywood-ized."

"And I am pleased with the way Hallmark presented it," Murakami says.

Hallmark only does three films per year for CBS, and this one was chosen because it is about what happens when a family is torn apart by a sudden loss, says Hallmark programming executive Jan Parkinson.

"Our films are relationship stories, and what really impressed us was the courage it took to forgive such a horrible act and make something positive out of it," he says.

The film has taken some artistic license. For example, it was filmed in Victoria, British Columbia, so there are no palm trees.

Also, Murakami's attorney, Tampa lawyer Rick Terrana, is not portrayed. In the movie, Murakami's lawyer is a woman played by Peri Gilpin of "Frasier" fame. Cabezas's name has been changed to Justin Gutierrez (played by Shiloh Fernandez).

"There are some other little things that were changed, but the important facts in the story are true to life," Murakami says.

Murakami appears at the end of the film in a public service announcement about the Safe Teen Driver program (www.safeteen driver.org).