By Alex Harvey
12/22/2010
On average, someone in the U.S. is killed by a drunk driver every 40 minutes. Altamont mom, Teresa Rogers, learned this in an unforgettable way.
NJSH students were visited on November 24th, 2010, by this local mother and heard her very important message: Drunk driving kills. The name of her presentation was “Mom with a Message.” She told the students of her experience with drunk driving, and the tragedies that it inflicted on her family, friends, and life, in general.
When Roy Dean Rogers III, her son, went driving on a late night in October, it was his last. He was hit head on in a collision involving a drunk motorist, thus ending his life. He died in a crash that occurred on US 45.
There are many steps we can take to avoid tragedies such as this. If you are drunk, don’t drive. Have another, sober, person take you home, call a cab, or use public transportation. Or, simply don’t drink! In 2006, there were 17,941 driving fatalities related to alcohol. This was 41 percent of the total 43,000 fatalities. By avoiding alcohol altogether, this number can be greatly reduced.
