Nereida Flores Garza is seen with her daughter Analicia Zarate of Edinburg. Garza died in a drunk driving incident 20 years ago. (YouTube video still | TxDOT)
Analicia Zarate’s story isn’t a happy one. Consider that the Edinburg woman lost her mother in a drunk driving incident 20 years ago, a loss that has remained with her throughout life.
But now she’s sharing her story as part of the Texas Department of Transportation’s drunk driving campaign to raise awareness ahead of the holiday weekend, in hopes it’ll speak to someone before making a costly mistake.
TxDOT has kicked off its “Faces of Drunk Driving” summer campaign that highlights the impacts of drunk driving. During this campaign, people across the state of Texas who have been affected by drunk driving will be sharing their stories with the community.
Zarate, who lost her mother, Nereida Flores Garza, 20 years ago after a drunk driver ran a stop sign, is one of those faces. She recalled being 4 years old and being driven home from church one Sunday night when another driver rammed into her mother’s car.
“All I remember is being buckled into a car seat and waking up in a hospital a week later,” Zarate said in a TxDOT news release. “My mother died in the crash.”
She recalled feeling angry and hoping the offender could see the effect they had on her life — to see her pain.
Analicia and state transportation officials hope her story serves as a reminder of how people’s lives can be changed forever due to someone driving impaired. According to the TxDOT news release, in 2021 there were 25,261 drunk driving-related traffic crashes in the state of Texas showing a 9% increase from 2020.
“These are real people whose deaths were 100% preventable, had it not been for a drunk driver,” TxDOT Executive Director Marc Williams said in the release. “We hope these personal accounts from offenders and survivors wake people up to the consequences of drinking and driving. Always get a sober ride through a designated driver, taxi, rideshare app, or calling a friend — or simply stay where you are.”
During this campaign, residents will also hear from those who have been arrested for driving while intoxicated. Among those stories is about a person TxDOT identified only as Richie, who spent 10 days in jail for driving home after drinking at a friend’s house, which resulted in him crashing his car into a house.
He was sentenced to a year on probation and 150 hours of community service as well as fines and the cost of repairs to the house.
State transportation officials is providing a video exhibit displaying the consequences of drunk driving at McAllen’s Fourth of July celebration, Concert in the Sky, from 6 to 10 p.m. Saturday at the McAllen municipal park on 1921 N. Bicentennial Blvd. in McAllen.
Also, the McAllen Police Department is joining the Edinburg and Pharr police departments, together with the Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Office, to increase patrols during the Fourth of July holiday weekend, and to “remind the public about the importance of driving sober.”
“…Each agency pledges to increase patrols to keep drunk drivers off our roadways,” authorities said in a news release Friday.
