One Family’s Quest To Prevent Future Tragedies - An Unethical Decision Resulted In A Fatal Car Accident Of Local Teenager

The Grimmé family, a beloved benefactor of the Broward College Foundation, established and funded the Michael J. Grimmé II Ethics Program in perpetuity in loving memory of their son, Michael, who died tragically in a car accident at 17, as a result of poor ethical decisions made at a car dealership.

“As our family tried to cope with this devastating loss, we made several dedications and awarded scholarships through my Rotary Club in his name, but we felt it was still not enough, something was missing,” said Michael Grimmé, Sr. “We needed to find a way to really make a difference and hopefully prevent another family from going through what we went through, so we established the Broward College Business Ethics Program in Michael’s memory.”

With the goal of bringing business ethics to the forefront for students at Broward College, business leaders including Attorney John Uustal, Founding Partner at Kelley Uustal, shared powerful real-life examples and the devastating ramifications which resulted from unethical behavior during the Ethics and the Law session. Industry leaders from JetBlue and Spirit, among others, served as conversational facilitators at breakout tables where they had deep discussions about ethics. Broward College students were prompted to define what ethics means to them and discuss why ethical business practices are so important.

An associate professor from Broward College’s Philosophy Department led a captivating discussion about morality versus ethics, the definitions and differences, and delved into core ethical principles - honesty, fairness, respect and accountability. Students recounted ethical dilemmas they have experienced when the core principles were conflicted.

“We thank the Grimmé family for their unwavering devotion and support for this incredibly important ethics program,” said Scott Rivinius, Interim Vice President, Advancement & Executive Director, Broward College Foundation. “We also appreciate the many business and community leaders and our faculty who took the time to join us in mentoring our students.”

The Michael Grimmé story: In 2006, Michael J. Grimmé, II, 17, bought his first car with his parents. The car was purchased at an auto dealership and several items needed to be fixed on the car. The car was “fixed” earlier than planned, and due to his father being out of town, he picked up the car with his mother and they were assured all was fixed with the car. Michael left the dealership with his mother following behind. Ten minutes later, on I-95, Michael was killed instantly when due to mechanical issues caused by a lack of business ethics at the dealership, he had no control of his car and hit a disabled tractor trailer. His mother watched it happen. The initial impact on the family was complete and overwhelming devastation for the family followed by many years of incredible difficulty in coping with this unnecessary and, what could have been avoided, tragedy if someone, anyone, had just said no to the actions taken while it was being serviced and prepared for sale. The Grimmé family continues to offer scholarships but decided more needed to be done to prevent another family from going through what they went through. So, the family created the Broward College Ethics Program in Michael’s memory to educate students and others how short cuts, faulty parts, improper procedures and false statements can have a devastating impact on companies, industries and families.

Anyone interested in supporting ethical decision making training for Broward College students, please contact Nancy Botero at: nbotero@broward.edu.