MIAMI (WSVN) - The Florida Highway Patrol has teamed up with a local hospital and organization to combat drunk driving this holiday season.
Jackson Memorial Hospital, Mothers Against Drunk Driving and the FHP have said they are on a mission to keep everyone on the roadways safe from drunk drivers.
In a news conference, Jackie Gonzalez, whose sister was killed by a drunk driver, reminded the public to not make bad decisions. “Don’t let my story be your story,” said Gonzalez. “My sister was 17, and she was killed by a drunk driver.”
Caroline was killed at a Southwest Miami-Dade intersection in April of 2014. She was inside a vehicle with a friend when a fender-bender occurred.
Another man stopped to help the two women. A drunk driver then hit and killed all three of them, shortly afterwards.
“If it weren’t for alcohol and drugs, we could almost close down the trauma center,” said Ryder Trauma Center’s Medical Director Dr. Nicholas Namias, “I can promise you that.”
Many more mothers and family members presented stories about losing loved ones due to drunk driving, Tuesday afternoon.
“I often get asked, ‘What’s the worst thing to do as a State Trooper,'” said FHP officer Joe Sanchez. “It’s called, Notification of Next of Kin.”
At the news conference, the FHP also demonstrated the effects of not wearing a seat belt in a rollover crash using a live simulator.
An estimated number of more than two dozen people die every day in the United States as a result of alcohol-related crashes.
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