Parents advocate against drunk driving
By KTBS Web Staff
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SHREVEPORT, Louisiana (KTBS) — One man’s selflessness turned into his final moments just days before his 21st birthday. Charles Tramell, III, died in 2022 due to a drunk driver. While helping a friend change a tire on a Texas highway, he was struck and fell 60 feet over the bridge.
Two years later his parents, Charles and Shenica Tramell, are part of The Faces of Drunk Drivers campaign. They are raising awareness to prevent tragedies like the one their family has gone through.
“We didn’t get a chance to see Charles graduate college. We never got the opportunity to see him sitting around the kitchen table with his wife and kids during the holidays,” said Charles Trammell. We would like to stress the importance of never getting behind the wheel of a vehicle if you’ve been drinking,” said Shenica Trammell. On average 65 alcohol-related crashes happened everyday last year in the U.S. Louisiana and Arkansas are ranked in the top 20 in the nation for most drinking and driving incidents. Texas was in the top three. July and August are known as the two deadliest months for drunk driving related fatalities.
“Drunk driving kills more than 1000 people in Texas every year,” said Ruby Martinez TxDOT program manager. “That’s one person every 8 hours and 11 minutes as a result of more than 23,000 DUI related crashes in Texas last year.” The efforts overlap with heightened law enforcement efforts during the summer holiday season to keep Texas roads safe. The campaign aims to reduce the number of DUI alcohol related traffic crashes, especially as more people take to the roads for summer fun during the Independence Day holiday from June 21st through July 7th,” said Martinez The number of drunk driving deaths on Texas roadways was down 15% from 2022 in 2023. November 7, 2000 was the last day no deaths were reported on Texas roadways. TxDOT works to end drunk driving completely.
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