19 Years Later, Grandfather Remembers His Grandson Killed In DUI Crash
Aug 31, 2018, 11:32 PM | Updated: 11:36 pm
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – No matter how many times Utah Highway Patrol troopers warn drivers to not drink and drive, they know it’s still going to happen.
“Yeah, there are still some images burned into my mind that I will never forget,” said Utah Highway Patrol Sgt. Roy Carlson.
That’s why he’s taking part in the statewide DUI blitz this Labor Day weekend.
“We’re just out making sure people are safe on the roads,” said Sgt. Carlson.
Thing is, drinking and driving is actually easy to prevent. All drivers have to do is not drink if they’re going to drive.
“It’s 100 percent avoidable,” said Art Brown, who lives in Salt Lake City. “People ought to have more respect for life itself in the community in which they live.”
Brown wishes more people had that respect, because, if they did, his grandson Matthew would still be alive and Brown wouldn’t have been there watching his daughter make the toughest decision ever.
“The worst day in my life is when I watched her and her husband have to pull life support and he turned color and we had to say goodbye and not hold a child anymore,” he said.
His grandson was 4 months old at the time.
A drunk driver hit the family in 1999.
“You get over it and you move on, but at birthdays, there’s a big hole in the chair, empty chair, and the memories can flood in again, unexpectedly, and then you have another rough day and that happens all too often,” said Brown.
That’s why he got involved in Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
He’s now the president of the local chapter and has advocated for tougher DUI laws.
Brown was also present at the Utah Highway Patrol DUI blitz kickoff in Murray Friday night, bringing pizza and drinks for the troopers who will take part in the extra enforcement this Labor Day holiday weekend.
He would love to see every drunk driver caught.
“They took Matthew. Off the face of the Earth. But we said no way, no way. He’s going to have a voice and we will be his voice,” said Brown.
Sadly, his story is one of many.
There have been four DUI deaths in Utah in just the past 24 hours.
However, he’s hoping by telling his story, it’ll stop one person from making a bad choice this, or any, weekend.
“Nobody is talking about not drinking,” said Brown. “We’re saying if you do, don’t drive. Get a safe way home.”
