FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 11, 2003

CONTACT: SID GAULDEN, (803) 896-8755

S.C. DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY REMEMBERS TRAFFIC FATALITY VICTIMS IN ANNUAL MEMORIAL SERVICE

COLUMBIA -- The South Carolina Department of Public Safety will hold the 2002 Memorial Service for Highway Fatality Victims on Saturday, April 12, at 10 a.m. at Brookland Baptist Church, 1066 Sunset Boulevard, West Columbia.

The purpose of this annual service is to remember those who lost their lives on South Carolina highways during the previous year and to educate the public in an effort to prevent future loss of life on our highways. The first Memorial Service for Highway Fatality Victims was held in December, 1988.

“Too often, traffic fatalities are seen only as statistics,” said DPS Director B. Boykin Rose. “The Memorial Service is a way for DPS to show that there is a human side to these numbers.”

In 2002, 1,053 people died in traffic crashes on our roadways.  The families of these victims have been invited to remember their loved ones and to gather with others who share in similar tragedies. The friends of these victims as well as the general public also are invited to attend the service.

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Editor’s Note: DPS has received responses from more than 850 people who plan to attend the service; however, we expect that actual attendance may exceed 1,000. Your attendance at and coverage of this service would help us carry our message to those families and friends who are not able to attend.

JB/29/2003