Parents Hope New Driver Safety Campaign Will Save Lives
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LEXINGTON, Tenn. — West Tennessee officers gather as they kick off a new campaign to keep drivers safe. It’s a message that hits too close to home for some West Tennessee parents. Mary Beth and Keith Duke say there isn’t a day that goes by they don’t think about their son, Brennan. “The last few years have been very hard, not just for his family but his friends. It’s affected our community,” said Brennan’s mom, Mary Beth. Brennan died in a crash off Corinth Road in Decatur County on March 26, 2011. The UT Martin freshman was only 19 years old. Officers believe he fell asleep at the wheel and wasn’t wearing his seat belt. He was thrown from the car after hitting a tree. West Tennessee law enforcement gathered on Friday for a show of force for a new traffic safety campaign called ‘Hands Across the Border’. “Last year, 60 percent of the people that died in traffic crashes were not restrained. We’re smarter than that. We’ve got the facts, and we’ve got the statistics,” said THP Lt. Brad Wilbanks. To the Dukes, these statistics are all too real. “When it could have been prevented, I know that when our time’s up our time’s up, but at the same time, we don’t have to encourage it to come quicker,” said Mary Beth Duke. Brennan’s parents say they hope their message will impact drivers over this summer travel season, and keep other parents from experiencing what they have. Since their son’s passing, the Duke family has set up a memorial scholarship fund giving scholarships to students to get their college degree, something Brennan never had the opportunity to do.
