Ethan Saltar was just 16 years old when he was killed in a car accident in Brighton, Colorado, last September. His best friend was driving the sport utility vehicle Ethan was riding in, and when the vehicle rolled over in the crash, Ethan was ejected. Ethan’s friend was driving under the influence of alcohol. What’s even more chilling about this case is the other passenger in the car, 22-year-old Amanda Gonzales. It was her sport utility vehicle they were all riding in. Gonzales apparently gave both teenage boys alcohol–and then gave Ethan’s friend the keys to her car. The driver is being charged with vehicular homicide for his role in the accident. Gonzales is not. For Ethan Saltar’s mother, Leanne, this is unacceptable.
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After analyzing traffic statistics compiled by The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT), The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Bachus & Schanker created a detailed report on DUI fatalities in the state. The report covers the period from 2005 to 2009, and contains some good news. Unfortunately, it’s counterbalanced by some bad news about alcohol-related traffic fatalities.

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Every day in the United States, 32 people die in car accidents caused by drunk drivers. Every holiday season, the number of drunk driving accidents, and therefore the number of deaths, goes up all over the country. It’s a sad part of what is supposed to be a joyous time. Thousands of people are injured or killed every year because someone chose to get into their car and drive after having too much to drink. Since its founding in 1980, Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) has been on a mission to reduce the frequency of drunk driving, and to fight for harsher penalties for those who drive drunk. To increase awareness, and get more people involved in the fight, MADD created the Tie One On For Safety program.

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Weld County is cracking down on drunk driving. Between 2004 and 2008, the county had one of the highest rates of DUI fatalities in Colorado. In an effort to reduce the number of fatalities during Labor Day weekend, the Weld County DUI Task Force increased patrols and sobriety checkpoints throughout the county on August 20, and will continue the crackdown through September 7.

Labor Day weekend brings an increase in alcohol-related vehicle accidents every year. Unfortunately, many of those accidents result in at least one fatality. (more…)

On the night of July 5, 2010, Elizabeth Long killed 22-year-old Mary Warren. It wasn’t premeditated, and Long didn’t use a gun or a knife, but she did use a weapon — her car. Long was driving drunk. So drunk, in fact, that she drove her car the wrong way down Interstate 25 for a distance of five miles, colliding with several vehicles before hitting the car Mary was riding in, killing her almost instantly. Long was arrested charges of vehicular homicide, two counts of vehicular assault, careless driving, driving on the wrong side of a divided highway, failure to remain at the scene, and driving under the influence (DUI).

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Sandra Jacobson is back in jail again after being arrested for driving with a suspended license. Her license was suspended in early January 2009, over two weeks before the she caused the crash that killed Kathy Krasniewicz 54, and Kate McClelland, 71.

Jacobson is accused of losing control of her truck and sideswiping a taxi headed to Denver International Airport (DIA) and causing the crash that killed the two Connecticut librarians.

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Recent statistics on fatalities involving drunk drivers show that the number of people killed in alcohol related crashes since 2002 are declining. But, what we need to remember is that these statistics are not just numbers on a graph. These statistics represent a person – someone’s loved one, whether they are family, friend, neighbor, co-worker or an acquaintance.

Unlike contracting cancer or some other terminal illness, fatalities caused by a drunk driver are 100 percent preventable. Drunk driving is a choice. You cannot choose to get or not get cancer. You cannot choose to have or not have a heart attack. But you can choose to drive drunk.

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Most of us have at least one parking or speeding ticket in our driving careers. We get assessed points against our licenses, pay our fines and promise not to do it again. But, according to a Denver Post article, there may be about 225,000 illegal drivers in Colorado. These illegal drivers caused nearly one-fourth of all traffic deaths in Colorado last year.

In 2008, Colorado saw 548 people killed in motor vehicle crashes, and of those, 130 of these fatalities (24 percent) involved illegal drivers. According to the auditors’ report, only seven other states had a higher rate of fatal crashes involving illegal drivers last year.

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Another successful Wall-Bop Golf Tournament is behind us, and once again we are in awe of the generosity and support of our friends, family, and sponsors.

As in prior years, we were sold out, with people from all over the country traveling to Colorado to join us in a celebration of our boys, Paul and Brandon. The weather cooperated and everyone had a great time; golfers and volunteers alike.

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Fortunately for the state of Colorado, Governor Ritter decided to scrap his recent plan to stop funding for drunk driving crackdowns. As part of his original budget cutting plan, Ritter proposed to take more than 1.3 million dollars away from the program that funds the overtime pay for police officers that man the Driving Under the Influence (DUI) patrols such as “The Heat is On”.

On the chopping block was the Law Enforcement Assistant Fund (LEAF) which is funded by the fees paid by those arrested for alcohol-related offences. Of the ninety dollar fee, about one-third goes to the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) to fund grants for DUI enforcement. In 2009 about 1.4 millions dollars was on hand for 56 different police and sheriff departments throughout Colorado.

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