A suspected drunken driver recently killed two bright stars in the hockey world — National Hockey League standout Johnny Gaudreau, 31, and his brother Matthew, 29, a former pro player who became a high school coach.
Maybe you read about them.
They were on an evening bike ride near the family home in New Jersey the night before their sister’s wedding.
Can this story get any worse? Yes, it does. They both leave behind a whole lot of grieving people: spouses, children, parents and siblings.
And when the famous die young, they leave behind a saddened public.
While I don’t know the Gaudreau family, I know my mom’s story very well, and let me tell you, a drunken driver altered the entire course of her life.
My mother’s world was rocked at 6 years old when her father was killed by a drunken driver as he was getting off a bus after work.
After Mom died in 2021, when going through her belongings, I found my grandfather’s death certificate that stated the cause of death as vehicular homicide.
That’s rough to see it spelled out, and to know my mom kept this pain in her dresser for more than 70 years.
It turns out, unfortunately, the deaths of the Gaudreaus by an accused drunken driver on a hot August night isn’t all that unusual, still.
According to the National Highway Safety Administration, drunken drivers cause a third of all U.S. traffic deaths.
I can’t believe people still think it’s OK to have a drink and hit the road.
When I was learning to drive, Mothers Against Drunk Driving sponsored a program in which the county coroner came to my high school and gave a presentation — photos included — of fatal accidents involving alcohol.
The photo show scared me.
I still can see personal effects splayed across the road, mixed in with liquor bottles and beer cans, a boot with a bone sticking out of the side. You get it.
Who among us is most vulnerable in the age of Uber and Lyft to take the risk of driving drunk? NHSTA data said, “Young adults, particularly those aged 21 to 24, are among the age groups with the highest rates of alcohol-impaired driving incidents, and … men are disproportionately represented in these statistics.”
Isn’t it time to continue the drive to do something more about this?
Our neighbor to the north, Canada, particularly Quebec, is making a stand aimed at blunting drunken driving fatalities.
Beginning in 2019, repeat offenders must install “an ignition interlock device for life, meaning they must blow into a Breathalyzer to start their car if they’ve been convicted of drunk driving more than once within 10 years.”
According to Canadian government websites, stricter laws are making a difference, as the Quebec government seeks to reduce the 100 drunken driving deaths a year.
Ontario has also enacted strict measures to bring down drunken driving fatalities; drivers stopped for speeding can be Breathalyzed without evidence of alcohol.
You go, Canada, recognizing that even one death avoided is worth celebrating.
There are dozens of solutions to drunken driving, and there should no longer be any excuses.
If you want powerful evidence against taking the risk of drinking and driving, Meredith Gaudreau’s social media page may bring you to tears.
A young family, a toddler and an infant, permanently altered; two little ones who will now grow up without their dad Johnny.
Heartbreaking and real pain that was entirely preventable.
