MADD VA E-Newsletter                                                                   March 2024

George Seal PSA

MADD Virginia sat down with volunteer George Seal to talk about the loss of his daughter, Heather Seal, due to a drunk driving crash. George also reminds people to never drink and drive and how it could affect you and your loved ones. To view this PSA, click here.

Senior Trooper S.C. Albert has been selected by the MADD National Office as its February 2024 Officer of the Month. Nominated by the MADD Virginia State Office, Senior Trooper Albert is being featured in MADD’s national law enforcement newsletter for his exceptional efforts to detect, deter, and apprehend intoxicated drivers on Virginia’s highways.

Senior Trooper Albert is the first Virginia State Trooper to achieve this national recognition. The MADD Virginia State Office joined Lt. Col. Matt Hanley, director of the Virginia State Police Bureau of Field Operations, at the state police Area 6 Office on Feb. 15, 2024 to present Albert with a special MADD certificate and letter from the MADD National Law Enforcement Initiatives Manager, ret. Missouri State Highway Patrol Colonel Ron Replogle, and Director of MADD Organizational Prevention Programs, Meghan Carter.

Albert is assigned to the Area 6 Office within the VSP Richmond Division, which encompasses the City of Colonial Heights and the counties of Amelia, Chesterfield, and Powhatan. In 2023, he led the entire Department with more than 90 Driving Under the Influence (DUI/DUID) arrests. Within the first 45 days of 2024, Albert has already taken 12 impaired drivers off the roads within the Area 6 jurisdictions. Albert is also a certified Drug Recognition Expert. Albert is a 17-year veteran of state police, working most of the time in VSP Richmond Division. He is married with two children.

 

National Drug and Alcohol Facts Week is March 18-24, 2024

NDAFW is an annual, week-long health observance to inspire a dialogue about the science of drug use and addiction among youth.  Recent research tells us that how youth and young adults perceive harm from drugs and alcohol is often wrong. SAMHSA’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) from 2020 shows that 57 percent of youth ages 12 to 17 did not think there was great harm in having five or more drinks once or twice a week. Even more concerning is that as many as 62.6 percent of those in that age group did not think it was very harmful to smoke marijuana once or twice a week. (Source)

Facts challenge our ideas about youth substance use, such as that kids aren’t really drinking anymore because they prefer cannabis, or that we should be more concerned about boys drinking alcohol than girls (see diagrams below) and reinforce the importance of talking to ALL of our youth about substance use and dangers. MADD has resources to help!  Start talking with your teens today.

https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/brochures-and-fact-sheets/underage-drinking

https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/brochures-and-fact-sheets/underage-drinking

Impaired Driving Stories in the News 

1/10/24 Driver in Warren County Crash had .22.BAC

1/16/24 Teens Charged after Crash in Stafford

1/17/24 Driver Jose Sanchez-Aguilar Dies Due to Injuries from a Drunk Driving Crash, 18, Fairfax

1/27/24 Tynisa Southerland, Passenger in Drunk Driving Crash, Dies from Injuries, 29, Norfolk

1/29/24 Andre Messado Hit and Killed by Drunk Driver, 27, Henrico

2/2/24 Allen Smith Killed in DUI Crash, 20, Tazewell

2/5/24 Virginia Man Sentenced for Alcohol-Cannabis Induced Fatal Crash in Minnesota

Calendar

March 14 - MADD Mid-Atlantic Monthly Virtual Support Group via Teams at 6:00 pm

https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_MjA4YjVlZmItYTQyMy00NzJmLTg3YzUtZWUzZGIyNWI1YWUx%40thread.v2/0?context=%7b%22Tid%22%3a%224d97059f-5f7e-491b-8c1e-8ff3eb6788c0%22%2c%22Oid%22%3a%228f0751c2-c692-4387-9287-3b5b82719d9f%22%7d

Please contact [email protected] with any questions or concerns.

5/18/24 Walk Like MADD Northern Virginia

6/1/24 Walk Like MADD Shenandoah

9/28/24 Walk Like MADD Richmond

MADD Around Virginia

Volunteers Debbie and Tina lost daughters in alcohol impaired crashes. In February, they shared their stories with DUI offenders in Fauquier.

Volunteers Nicie and Kristine Villatoro shared their story with officers at the Shenandoah Criminal Justice Academy

Volunteer Mike Goodove was interviewed by WTKR as part of this story on DUI Convictions in Virginia Beach, and as part of this story on planning ahead for a safe ride home on Super Bowl Sunday.

“In 2021, there were 26,325 passenger vehicle occupants (in passenger cars, pickup trucks, vans, or SUVs) killed in traffic crashes in the United States. Half (50%) of those who were killed were not wearing seat belts” (source). Buckle Up. Every Trip. Every Time. is a campaign that reminds everyone to put on their seat belt before starting to drive. Every passenger needs to have a seat belt on at all times because seat belts save lives.

This newsletter is supported by a federal highway safety grant administered by the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles.