On April 7th a drunk driver hit 18 year old Aaron White and injured passenger Jacob Wood.
Saturday night his family and friends held a benefit to raise money for his recovery, while the SC Highway Patrol cracks down on DUI so accidents like this don't happen again.
Police charged Michael White of Inman with felony DUI after his truck hit Hill's car
Rachelle, his mother, said she has only one thing to say to drivers like White. Don’t do it.
Mothers Against Drunk Driving said their numbers show the state has the second highest number of DUI fatalities. There were over 350 in 2010.
On March 4th Julie Mason was driving an SUV, when it crossed the center line of Highway 8 in Pickens County. Police say she hit a DSS worker's car killing Chrystal Harrison and 9 year old Raven Stencil.
Mason was also charged with felony DUI.
Police said a DOT worker was hit by a drunk driver on April 6th too on Interstate 85. He was patching the road when he was hit and later died in the hospital.
“Something needs to be done I mean people who have DUI's, they need to stay in jail. They shouldn't be able to be out here on the streets. First offense or third offense something needs to be done about it,” said Rachelle.
The Highway Patrol is partnering with all law enforcement agencies in the state to crack down on drunk driving.
They'll be putting more troopers on the road during the late hours and setting up check points.
They say if you're drunk on the road, they'll be in your way on your way home.
Having just lost his friend, Jacob said this accident and the many others could have been prevented.
“Don't do it because this could happen to anyone even if they're not that drunk, it could still happen,” said Jacob.
Highway Patrol said nearly half of the 800 traffic fatalities in 2010 were because of drunk driving and 24,000 have been charged. 17,000 of those by the states DUI detection force.
They say this time of year and into the summer is the most deadly on the roadways and they're going to do everything they can to keep drunk drivers off the road.
The Highway Patrol will be holding events throughout the summer months.
The next is coming up in May where a state wide campaign to buckle up will be held.
They said when they flood the roadways with troopers, they do see results.
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