‘MADD,’ hosts 20th Golden Shield event to honor Law Enforcement for service

Driving drunk is the cause of up to 28% of all auto fatalities.

MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – Driving drunk is the cause of up to 28% of all auto fatalities in Georgia and across the national, according to the Regional Executive Director of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, Jill Arrington. She says it’s important to raise awareness of such a preventable crime.

“We are not anti-drinking, we are not anti- businesses related to alcohol. We just don’t want you to get behind the wheel,” said Jill Arrington, Regional Executive Director of Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

Cynthia Hagin, unfortunately knows, first hand the danger of people driving intoxicated.

Her mother, sister and sister’s fiancé all lost their lives in a head on collision in 1996.

“The underage drunk driver was also killed, they also killed their passenger who bought alcohol, the underage drunk driver was 20 years ago. He had only been twenty for 10 days and his passenger was 23, they were both in the military.” Said Cynthia Hagin, lost three family members in drunk driving head on collision.

She says the loss of her family was devastating and hard to get through for the first few years. Hagin says four years later, she attended her first MADD Vigil and was asked to talk about what happened.

“I said no, I don’t want to don’t want to talk about my family being gone, and she said, if you share your story, it’ll help you with the grieving process and you might change someone else’s mind to think next time before they drink and drive,” said Hagin.

Hagin, first told her story at school and hasn’t stopped sharing her message since.

She’s now, the Regional Victim’s Services and Grant Manager for Georgia and Alabama.

Arrington says stories like Hagin’s changes lives, and hopes her message will help get the 28%, down to zero.