LAKE EUFAULA, Okla. — The first holiday of the warmer weather is here, but this holiday weekend also starts the 100 deadliest days as impaired driving tends to increase.
The families of impaired driving victims, as well as agencies across the state, are pleading for people to be safe and responsible as they hit the roads and waters celebrating Memorial Day.
"I don't want people to stop living. Prevention isn't about stop living. This is so people can live their lives to the fullest," said Penny Gooch.
At a press conference at Lake Eufaula, Penny shared how she lost her sister Paula 30 years ago.
She said they were enjoying a warm spring day in 1993. After their fun day in Tahlequah, she dropped her sister off at her car to drive home to Miami.
Stopping in Jay, Paula called her husband to let him know she was on her way home and she loved him.
Paula then made the drive from Jay to Grove around 8:30 on a Monday night.
When Paula reached Grove city limits, just 30 miles from her destination in Miami, Penny said Paula saw headlights in her lane and sudden she was hit by an impaired driver hit.
"When you look at those statistics, that's not a high rate of fatality statistic, but there was one thing about that day that made it more fatal than others. It was the first warm day after a very cold winter," she said. “The first thing I thought when I heard Paula was killed by an impaired driver was Paula was just a statistic, and those statistics now mean something to me because those statistics are real people who come from real families who really love them, so those statistics matter.”
With it now warming up in Oklahoma and this weekend being the first holiday of the warmer weather, Penny is challenging those going out to celebrate to be safe, and responsible and even think about how you can celebrate in a different way other than drinking.
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