Seeing Someone Die

It was a great day, at least it started that way. One of my only childhood friends dropped in to see me. John had great news, he had just got engaged to Shelly, a girl he had been seeing for about two years. They were great together, John had never been happier than when he was with her. He was dropping in on his high school friends spreading the good news and asking if we could attend the wedding. At least that's what he said he was doing. They had no idea when it would be but he was hoping it would be soon. He asked me to be his best man, and there was no way I could refuse him or Shelly for that matter. She was a charmer to be sure. John had rented a 5.0 Mustang from one of the rental places at Sky Harbor airport and he was loving showing it off. My best friend was in town, he was going to be married, I was going to be the best man and we had a fast car, ...like I said it was a great day.
I had just turned 21 and he had to take me to a bar he knew, It was Bourbon Street down in Tempe if I recall correctly. We were having a great time and had too much to drink but we were young and invincible. We took the Mustang for a ride when we should have just gone home but John was leaving the following afternoon so we continued the party. I don't recall if it was Thunderbird or Bell or Greenway but it was out near the auto dealers and it was dark and straight. We must have been doing close to 100 when we hit the construction, or the construction hit us. Either way it ended our day and John's life. We hit a bad stretch of blacktop, the mustang got loose and before I knew it we were airborne until we hit the power pole. John was very quiet so he may have been dead but I think I saw him take his last breath, you can tell when someone leaves its like nothing else. When the fire department arrived and cut us out of the car, I only had minor injuries but John was gone. How does one live with that? I tell you it isn't easy, its been over 18 years and I still cant forget that moment....