Mothers Against Drunk Driving, or MADD, held their annual commemoration walk on Saturday morning. The walk was organized to honor victims and survivors of impaired driving. Families told experiences about their lost loved ones in the hopes of permanently stopping intoxicated driving.
Angela Galloway’s mother was killed by an inebriated driver in July 2022.
“Telling her story keeps her alive and will hopefully impact someone to make a choice differently and that is to stop drinking and stop impaired driving,” according to Galloway.
The Galloway family is this year’s honor family for the nonprofit, but each victim was recognized through a call-and-response game in which participants read their names aloud.
Photos of those who perished adorned the area, serving as a sobering reminder of how many people have been affected by impaired driving accidents. Salim Yunusah was present; he lost a loved one to intoxicated driving.
“It just shows that there’s a lot more people like us out there who are both grieving and pushing through their own struggles as well,” Yunusah told me. “It’s good to be able to go and relate to people in the same situation, but it’s awful to realize that it’s affected so many people, so many people are upset, and so many people are pushing for the same cause, which is still going on.
South Carolina is the worst state in the country for drunk driving, with the eighth highest number of fatalities. Mothers Against Drunk Driving’s Regional Executive Director, Steven Burritt, says the organization is also working on legal changes. The non-profit is advocating for Senate Bill 52, which would revamp California DUI laws by strengthening punishments, closing loopholes, and improving enforcement. Burritt also stated that much more has to be done. He stated that DUIs have surged significantly since 2019, following decades of decline.
“We know we don’t have to accept that we can do better,” Burritt told the audience. “Obviously, every one of those numbers is a family destroyed a community going through incredible heartache and we just have to accept that we can do better and when people come together with MADD, we know we can make the kind of changes that can really change those numbers.”
