Honoring NYS Troopers

Before I begin, I'd like to extend my deepest condolences to all the families who've lost a loved one to a drunk driving crash in the last two weeks. It's been one DWI crash after another in the last couple weeks, including the one on Friday that killed a Buffalo Police Officer who was on his way home from work.

One thing that's overshadowed by all the coverage of the crashes is the good work being done on our roadways to prevent DWI from causing serious harm. This afternoon, CAID was proud to acknowledge New York State Police, Troop T for leading the way in DWI arrests for 2008. Troopers had more arrests than any other police agency in Erie County with 431. With those arrests, troopers averted 431 crashes that could have killed or injured someone.

Captain Nigrelli of the New York State Police was given an Award of Excellence. I'd like to thank the NYS Police, Erie County Central Police Services, STOP DWI of Erie County, and the New York State Thuway Authority for being a part of this presentation. All these groups work together to make our roads safe.

Here's a link to The Buffalo News story about the recognition.

Sadly another life lost to DWI & 3 teens dead in 24 hours

Kristina Moley was just 19 years old, when she made the terrible mistake to trust her 21 year old friend Ryan Lacey to drive when he was drunk.

Kristina died in a one car crash last night, when the car she was riding in and Ryan was driving, slammed into a tree in North Tonawanda.

Ryan's BAC has not yet been released, and he's at ECMC being treated for his injuries. He'll probably face other charges in connected with the crash that killed Kristina.

Unfortunately, Kristina is the third teen to die in less than 24 hours in WNY. Two girls were killed early Tuesday morning when their car missed a curve and slammed into a utility pole. Amber Graf and Sarah Breslin were close friends who graduated from Clarence High School last year. In that crash, police say high speed is to blame, and it's not yet clear whether Graf had been drinking or using her cell phone at the time of the crash.

I'm deeply troubled and saddened by the loss of these three young lives, in what appears to be preventable crashes.

I know the pain their families are experiencing, and my heart and prayers go out to everyone.

Please don't drink and drive. Did you know that 3 people die each hour due to an alcohol-related crash? Remember that operating a motor vehicle is a privilege. Take care and drive responsibly, so no more lives are lost on our roads. This is why I fight...so no other family goes through this pain and heartache, and I will keep fighting until drunk driving no longer steals precious lives.



Thank you,

Deanna

CAID Softball Tourney Update

The clock is ticking to CAID's largest fundraiser of the year - our 2009 Softball Tourney is about 5 weeks away!

It's an exciting time for CAID...plans for this event have been in the works for months!

The registration deadline is just 6 days away - that means if you plan to participate and haven't gotten a team together yet, you better get moving! There's not much time to waste. All registration forms and payments must be in by Wednesday, July 15.

We need to order t-shirts and make plans for refreshments, brackets, and umpires...we appreciate everyone's cooperation as we plan to make this event twice as successful as last year.

I'll have updates here for all the teams and spectators in the days ahead...so stay tuned!

Thanks,

Deanna