MADD Plans Vigil to Promote Safe Driving

A group of volunteers for Mothers Against Drunk Driving will conduct a public candlelight vigil Friday in Ventura to remember victims of alcohol-related crashes that have occurred in the county.

The ceremony will coincide with National Drunk and Drugged Driving Prevention Month and will also alert the public about the dangers of impaired driving, said Joley Martinez, a victim advocate for MADD’s Ventura County chapter.

The number of drunk driving fatalities in the county has decreased in the last few years, but the number of drunk driving arrests is still high, MADD state Chairwoman Linda Oxenreider said Saturday.

“This is the most important thing MADD does,” Oxenreider said of the vigil. Oxenreider’s son was killed by a drunk driver on the Conejo Grade in Camarillo in March 1989.

Attending the event will be Ventura County Supervisor Susan Lacey, Sheriff Bob Brooks, California Highway Patrol Officer Dave Cockrill and the victims and family members of victims of drunk driving crashes.

The vigil, the first in the county since 1995, is being hosted by volunteers, Oxenreider said.

The event, which will include music and speakers, will be held at 5 p.m. in the fountain courtyard at the County Government Center in Ventura. Speakers will discuss their hopes for a less violent future, Martinez said.

The local MADD chapter is a member of a nationwide coalition that promotes legislative change and personal action to prevent drunk driving accidents.