MADD’S memorial road signs personalize tragedy
In August 2014, my brother D.J. — Dean Hancock Jr. — had just left a hockey tryout when an impaired driver hit his vehicle head-on, and he was killed.
My parents, who had gone to watch him, were not far behind and they came across the crash. My father was with D.J. when he took his last breath. He was 18 years old.
Losing a loved one to a crime is devastating. The grief is indescribable, as too many families know. As Canada observes National Victims and Survivors of Crime Week (May 15 to 21), I want to express my condolences and support for all who have suffered this loss, and encourage everyone to take a moment to reflect on all these tragic and entirely preventable losses.
My family and I think about D.J. every day, and it is important to us that he is always remembered. We wanted the senselessness of his death to be acknowledged. We wanted to help prevent this devastating tragedy from happening to others.
When the opportunity arose to place a MADD Canada memorial road sign near the crash site where he died in Sudbury, Ont., we were honoured. It gave us some comfort to memorialize D.J. in this way, and some hope that people would see that sign and make a commitment to never drive impaired, by drugs or alcohol.
MADD Canada’s mission is to stop impaired driving and to support victims and survivors. We support victims and survivors through the criminal justice system, hold an annual National Conference for Victims of Impaired Driving and facilitate in-person and online support groups. One of the most important services we offer is the opportunity for people to memorialize loved ones who have been killed in impaired driving crashes.
Our memorial road signs, provincial memorial monuments, candlelight vigils and memorial walls give families a way to honour the people they’ve lost. We cannot change what has happened, but by sharing our loved ones’ stories, we may be able to spare others from having to endure this horrific experience.
So many of the families we support have said that if they can help someone else avoid this tragedy, their loved one did not die in vain.
SIGN IN NOVA SCOTIA
Earlier this month, in partnership with the government of Nova Scotia, MADD Canada unveiled this province’s first memorial road sign for a victim of impaired driving. The sign honours Donald King.
Donald and his wife, Dorothy, were hit by an impaired driver on Highway 4 near Glenholme on Aug. 27, 1993. He succumbed to his injuries on Sept. 6, 1993.
Featuring Donald King’s name and MADD Canada’s iconic red ribbon, the sign is located at on Highway 4, just past the Route 2 Exit to Parrsboro and Portapique, near the location of the crash so many years ago.
As his family said about the sign, “We hope its presence will discourage all who pass by to not drive while impaired by alcohol or drugs.”
MADD Canada was proud to welcome the King family and Public Works Minister Kim Masland to a special ceremony to unveil the sign. These memorials remind everyone that, behind the impaired driving statistics, there are real victims. Mothers, fathers, husbands, wives, daughters, sons, brothers, sisters. For every person killed, there are families, friends and communities who are deeply and permanently affected.
One person’s senseless act took Donald King from his family and friends. With this memorial, we pay tribute to him, and establish a compelling and powerful reminder to the public about the very real outcomes of driving impaired.
MADD Canada’s memorial road signs are a powerful, lasting way to honour victims, and to remind motorists about the tragic consequences of impaired driving. MADD Canada hopes that people see this sign and realize that every single person has the power to prevent impaired driving. By planning ahead for a sober ride home — and never getting behind the wheel impaired — people can prevent deadly crashes like the ones that claimed my brother’s life, Donald’s life, and the lives of hundreds of Canadians every year.
MADD Canada is proud to work with the government of Nova Scotia to bring this memorial road sign program to the province. The signs will be installed by the Department of Public Works near the locations of a fatal crashes involving alcohol and/or drugs on provincial highways. MADD Canada has similar agreements for memorial road signs in Manitoba, Ontario, Saskatchewan and Alberta, and is working on programs in other provinces.
For those interested in having a sign placed for a loved one, please contact Meghann Wetmore, MADD Canada’s victim service manager, Atlantic region, at mwetmore@madd. ca for information on the eligibility requirements and other details.