JEFFERSON CITY, MO. -- With the holiday season upon near, advocates for safety on the roads gathered at the Capitol Thursday to put a spotlight on drunk driving crashes.
While highway fatalities dropped in Missouri last year, the number due to alcohol constituted almost 32 percent of the total, 281 people.
"Missouri Remembers is not only a way to honor those people, but also remind others of the importance of driving sober during this holiday season and every day of the year,” Missouri Department of Transportation Highway Safety Director Leanna Depue said.
The safe roads coalition put up a special tree in the capitol rotunda with "Missouri Remembers" ornaments for anyone who wanted them. The testimonials remind people of the toll.
"Besides the numerous many physical injuries that I had, the emotional nightmares were the ones that were hard to forget,” Drunk Driving Accident Victim Phaedra Marriot-Olsen said.
Even more powerful is a new video that will play at the highway patrol museum.
"Driving while impaired deaths do not have to happen,” Missouri Highway Patrol Col. Ron Replogle said. “They aren't accidents. Ya know, drinking and driving is a choice.”
The coalition has launched a new website where you can get updated statistics on drunk driving crashes in Missouri.
You can also leave tributes to friends or loved ones victimized by the crime.
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