The Dallas Morning News reported this weekend that Kaitlyn Sanchez of Haltom City, Texas, was killed when the family's station wagon she was riding in was slammed into from behind by a pickup truck driven by 32-year-old Marcial Jose Ortega of Fort Worth.Kaitlyn was 4 years old.
Police arrested Ortega on a count of intoxication manslaughter but the charge was later upgraded to murder. The newspaper reports, "Mr. Ortega has three previous convictions for driving while intoxicated and a felony theft conviction and was sentenced to three years in prison for injuring an elderly person in 2002..."
Yes, it's just another DUI fatality, one of several that happen around the United States every day. It's just one more story that the media dutifully covers but in a surface, rageless fashion which tempts us to respond with a quick "tsk tsk" and then forget.
But, among the other extremely important issues presented here on Vital Signs, I am trying to keep this one before you too, hoping that our efforts to rebuild a "culture of life" will include a resolute opposition to the senseless killings caused by drunk drivers.
Having lost my father to a drunk driver, I feel a special intensity to this struggle. And though it is quite possible that impaired drivers have affected your lives too (around 30% of Americans will be involved directly in an alcohol-related accident sometime in their lives), the crisis certainly warrants principled actions by all of us.
For despite all of the information available, despite the talk of "designated drivers" and responsible drinking, despite the police and courts and legislatures, every year still sees nearly 13,000 people killed by drunk drivers with an illegal alcohol level of .08 BAC or above. Many more are killed in accidents involving less impaired (but still impaired!) alcohol-involved events. Added to these tragic figures are those killed in accidents involving other drugs (18% of motor vehicle deaths involve drugs like cocaine and marijuana, often combined with liquor).
And then, of course, there are the thousands left with severe injuries, the grieving families, and the catastrophic social and economic effects on individuals and society.
What then should be the priorities in our opposition to this lunacy?
1) Pressure on legislators and judges to get tougher...much tougher on drunk drivers. A commitment is needed from them to genuinely seek an elimination of DUI deaths, not just a "control."
2) Intensive and high-visibility law enforcement, including more stringent prosecution of repeat offenders, sobriety checkpoints, and the targeting of drinking establishments who carelessly enable drunk drivers.
3) Aggressive actions are needed across the board to reduce teenage drinking. Underage males (18 to 20) drive while impaired more frequently than any other age group. Specifically and immediately needed are zero tolerance laws for drivers younger than 21 years old.
4) We need now the complete implementation of current alcohol ignition interlock technologies along with the development of more advanced vehicle-based technologies.
For more information about how you can help pursue these critical goals, check out this page from the MADD website which directs you to relevant action steps in your own state. Also you might want to look at RADD, the "Entertainment Industry's Voice for Road Safety," the BACCHUS Network, Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD), and the Marin Institute.
