South Carolina Department of Public Safety

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 24, 2010

CONTACT: SID GAULDEN, 803-896-8409 or BEVERLY HARRIS, 803-896-9958

SCDPS holds memorial service for traffic fatality victims

BLYTHEWOOD – The South Carolina Department of Public Safety (SCDPS) held its annual memorial service Saturday to honor the 894 people who died as a result of traffic collisions on state roadways last year.

Hundreds of family members and friends of the deceased, as well as public safety officials, gathered for the Memorial Service for Highway Fatality Victims at Riverland Hills Baptist Church in Irmo.

Preliminary statistics for 2009 show the following highway fatality numbers by county (Numbers represent the number of people killed within the county and do not imply residency of the deceased.):

Statistics identified various groups of victims and the resulting number of deaths:

Children, 12 and younger – 20

Teens, ages 13-17 – 41

Adults, 18 and older – 833

Unbuckled motor vehicle occupants – 397 of the 684 with access to safety belts

Non-helmeted motorcyclists – 65 of the 87 motorcyclists killed

Pedestrians – 89

Male – 632

Female – 262

Families traveled from throughout South Carolina and other states to attend the service which included music, words of encouragement and a special video presentation.

Dr. Edward Carney, Senior Pastor at Riverland Hills Baptist Church, delivered a message to the families and SCDPS Director Mark Keel urged family members to speak out about their loved ones’ deaths to help spread the importance of highway safety. He also told the families that one of SCDPS’ own was among the highway fatalities of 2009.

The memorial service has been held annually since 1988 to remember state residents and visitors who lost their lives on South Carolina highways, to bring together families and friends of the deceased and to educate the public in an effort to prevent future loss of life on the state’s roads.

Family members brought photographs of their loved ones, which were displayed on the steps in the church sanctuary for the duration of the service. Photographs received by the agency in advance of the service were incorporated into a musical video presentation listing the names of the deceased.

Another integral part of the service was the Memorial Wall of Remembrance which lists the names of the deceased. The temporary structure was on display before and after the service to allow those in attendance time to reflect on the lives on their family members.

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