PGC Gets a Reminder to Drive Focused Sober and Safe After String of Deadly Car Accidents
Eight years ago, Devin Smith made the drive from his friend’s home at the University of Chapel Hill to his own place at North Carolina State University. There was only two weeks left until the start of his final year. He hadn’t been out much all summer and was excited to unwind with friends before starting classes. It was late, but he had to work the next morning and figured he could avoid waking up even earlier if he crashed in his own bed.
“The way I remember it I went from driving to instantly being pulled out the car,” he told an audience of about 100 at the kick off for the Drive Focused Sober and Safe campaign on Saturday.The event launched by the State Attorney's office was held at the Southern Regional Technology and Recreation Complex in Oxon Hill. “I saw my car crumpled up. I saw the EMS, but kept asking where are the other people?”Smith found out that the passengers in the other vehicle died later that week. He admits that it was not the first time he had driven drunk, but it would become his last.
Driving under the influence is the cause of about a third of fatal car accidents in the Prince George County according to the State Attorney's office. It is a statistic the entire area is grappling with. Police, pedestrians poets and public speakers gathered with the community to encourage the use of seat belts and discuss the importance of avoiding drinking and distractions while driving.
The Drive Focused Sober and Safe campaign was announced after a deadly car accident that killed six young people back in February. The driver of that vehicle, a Bowie woman, turned herself into Prince George County Police earlier this week after originally fleeing the scene. The crash instantly killed sisters London Dixon, 8, and Paris Dixon, the drivers children, along with their cousins, Zion Beard, 14; Rickelle Ricks, 6, and Damari Herald, 15. All five kids were thrown from the Suv. Cornell Simon, 23 who was in the passenger seat died 2 weeks later from injuries sustained during the accident.
According to Maryland State police none of the kids were wearing a seat belts at the time of impact. The woman now identified as Domonique Taylor had a suspected blood alcohol level of .169 according to Maryland Police. State Attorney Aisha Braveboy charged Taylor with vehicular manslaughter and vehicular homicide while under the influence of alcohol on April 23.The States Attorney's office is still investigating the case and declined to comment on further specifics regarding Taylor. Attorney Braveboy did say that the area will be increasing sobriety checkpoints as well as looking into new penalties for both drivers under the influence and distracted drivers. “We are working to make sure that folks are educated about the importance of not driving distracted.”
Although the drive safe campaign was announced after news broke of the Bowie crash, a spokesperson for the attorney's office added that the campaign is not just about that crash but all the crashes. “There are several crashes that happened before that, but that accident just resulted in lost a lot of lives. Children’s lives. But it is not just that case. We are not focused on helping just three or one. We are focused on the whole county.”
According to the the States Attorney's office crashes in Prince George’s County have been steadily rising since 2016. This is on par with the data released Maryland’s Motor Vehicle Administration in April which stated 101 people died in car related accidents last year‒25 more than in 2016 and nine more than in 2017.Lieutenant Vereen Barton has been serving the Prince George’s County for over a decade, first a firefighter and now park police officer.
Throughout her tenure she has participated in many similar campaigns. She said that witnessing avoidable accidents like these is what keeps her coming back to inform residents about the dangerous consequences of not only drinking but distracted driving.“I've gotten on the scene and the person was still holding the bottle in their hand, and they had passed away because they had gone straight into a tree”, she said.
According to Lieutenant Barton , many of the car accidents she responds to result in less impact for the at-fault driver. “A lot of the times the person who has been drinking is not injured ”, she explains as her partner nods his head along. “More often, the people they hit are hurt much worse. I can not tell you why that is, but I see it all the time.”The Lieutenant has one golden tip for anyone with a driver’s license.“My advice to young people, old people, I don't care who you are: don't get behind the wheel if you've been drinking. No, it's not ok because that's my family member that your gonna kill; or you might hurt your family member that's coming home the other direction.”She also said it's not just alcohol and cell phones that distract drivers. Multi-task drivers can also become deadly offenders too. “Driving safe is paying attention to the driver beside you. Not eating. No putting on makeup. How are you gonna do perfect eyeliner on the road?”
Lieutenant Barton who has been the first-responder to hundreds of similar accidents says there is much to learn from Smith’s story.“He never thought this would happen. He had his whole life ahead of him,” She said. “He never thought, I’m going to be a felon. Probably has never done anything else in his life that’s bad, but the minute you take that drink and get behind the wheel of a car, you just opened up yourself to your whole life changing.”Smith says that he has dedicated the rest of his life to the one he regrets taking that night.“As I continue to live and try to find meaning, I find meaning in my living by making sure his life was not taken in vain.”