Names of Ontario impaired driving victims to be engraved on new memorial monument

OAKVILLE (GLOBE NEWSWIRE): The families of victims killed in crashes involving alcohol and/or drugs will soon have a provincial memorial monument where they can honour their loved ones.

MADD Canada is working with the City of Brampton to build the Ontario Memorial Monument for Victims of Impaired Driving in Chinguacousy Park. The monument will be engraved with the names of Ontarians who were suddenly and senselessly taken from their family and friends as a result of a crash involving alcohol and/or drugs. It will be publicly unveiled at a special ceremony in early June.

For victims like MADD Canada National President Jaymie-Lyne Hancock, the Ontario Memorial Monument is a chance to pay tribute to their loved ones. On August 21st, 2014, Ms. Hancock's 18-year-old brother DJ Hancock was driving home from a hockey tryout. His parents were not far behind, having gone to watch their son. A driver who had more than twice the legal limit of alcohol crossed into DJ's lane and hit him head-on. DJ died in his car, his parents on the scene.

"It will be difficult and emotional to see DJ's name on that monument, but it will also be incredibly meaningful for my parents and me," Ms. Hancock said. "It will be a permanent tribute which acknowledges the tragedy of his death and everything our family has lost. Holidays, graduations, weddings and the day-to-day activities that families share, we will never have DJ there for those moments."

Anyone who has lost a loved one as a result of someone else's choice to drive after alcohol and/or drug consumption and would like to have them memorialized on the monument can submit their name through MADD Canada's website (https://madd.ca) or contact Louise Anne Lamoureux, MADD Canada's Director of Victim Services, at 1-866-876-5224. The deadline to submit names is May 10th.

Anyone who wishes to help create this lasting memorial for Ontario victims of impaired driving can make a donation through MADD Canada's new go fund me campaign (https://gofund.me/66263e8a). All funds support the costs of construction and the annual ceremony that will be held to commemorate victims.

Memorial monuments give victims' families a special place to remember and honour their loved ones. They also serve as an important reminder about the devastating toll impaired driving takes. MADD Canada hopes this monument is a strong motivation for members of the public to never drive impaired so we will not have to add the names of more innocent victims.

MADD Canada has memorial monuments in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Quebec, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, and Labrador. Annual ceremonies are held to recognize new names being added to the monuments and to honour all victims killed in crashes involving alcohol and/or drugs.

MADD Canada thanks the City of Brampton for its partnership. The City has worked with MADD Canada to select the location, granted the necessary approvals and is part of the design process. MADD Canada is responsible for all costs associated with installation, maintenance and the annual commemorative ceremony to recognize the new names added to the monument.

"On behalf of families around the province, I want to thank everyone at the City of Brampton for their support in honouring victims of crashes involving alcohol and/or drugs," Ms. Hancock said. "It means so much to us.”