 Everyone, thank you for joining me on Think Tech Hawaii. I am Shonda Park, your host for Money Talks. Today, my guest is Teresa Paulette, who volunteered for MAD, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, a year after her 15-year-old son, Brian, was killed by a man arrested six times for DUI. Her mission to stop this person and others like him fueled her desire to learn about public policy and testify before the legislator to strengthen existing laws and introduce stronger laws. MAD helped Teresa survive the loss of her son and she is there to help support the victims of drunk and drug driving. Teresa, welcome to the show and thank you for being on today. Thank you, Shonda. It's very nice to be with you. I appreciate you taking the time to be with us today. So please, just start off sharing a little bit more about you and your family. Well, I had moved from Maui to Oahu to what I was living. First slide, please. Go ahead, Teresa. I moved from Maui to Oahu to what I considered was a safe area out in Kaniwi, which I considered more country. After I got divorced, because my kids were young, they were just four and seven at the time. And I cherish the two pictures that I have of Brian and also the one of him with his sister. These are two of the last photos I will have. The one at Christmas is the last Christmas we shared together. And I got such a kick out of it with him holding Sassy who weighed about 80 pounds. And he had adopted the dog when she was just about six weeks old. And it was his forever companion. And she slept on his bed every night. And the next picture was in June of 92. And it was Nicole's graduation. And you can see how close they are. Brian, even they were three years apart in age, but Brian was now taller than Nicole. He has his arm around her and kind of comforting her as she's crying with all the lays and all the celebration. And I always said to them, mom won't always be here, please take care of each other. It's something that most parents say to their children because we never believe that they're going to pass before we do. No, it's something we never imagined. No. And Brian left for Maui shortly after Nicole's graduation. And he was gonna stay with his father for the summer. And he called at the end of summer and asked if he could stay and live on Maui. And I said, no, Brian, you have to come home. You have to think about your future. And five days later, he was killed by a man who had the six prior DUIs in Connoi. Brian was on his moped four blocks from home and this man was driving an F-150 truck and made a very short left-hand turn in front of him. And Brian was taken to the hospital immediately. I was only about five minutes away from where this occurred. And Brian died from multiple traumatic injuries. My sister at the time had the presence of mind to ask the officer if they had tested the truck driver. And he replied, no, look, he's an old man. There were several inconsistencies in the reports that I was getting from the police station and talking to an officer that made me question all of this. And I did hire a private investigator who found out that this man had a very long rap sheet for driving in the wrong lane, weaving back and forth, rear-ending people, and also these DUI arrests. And I was so angered and in grief and didn't know what to do, thinking that nobody cared. And I called mad. I was able to get ahold of mad. Carol McNamee, in fact, the founder of mad, and it helped to talk to somebody who understood. And mad was actually a lifesaver for me. And I have then committed now to trying to stop drunk driving, which is mad's mission actually, to stop drunk driving, to help fight drug driving, to support the victims of these violent crimes and to prevent underage drinking. Thank you. I realize that it's been a little over 30 years. And I thank you for your dedication and work because of my own personal story. And the reason I know you is because my daughter, Azalea, was killed by a drunk driver. So she was struck on December 18, 2020, and she was pronounced brain dead three days later. And so I have a news clip to share my story. New tonight, heartache leads to action. An Oahu mother who lost her daughter to an alleged drunk driver is now trying to help drinkers get home safely. Our Jolani Martinez has tonight's top story. December, 2020, it was dark like this when Azalea Park was walking in this crosswalk here on Kahua Paani Street when she was struck by an alleged drunk driver. Park died of her injuries three days later. Now her mom is on a new mission to save lives. She was then pronounced brain dead after the series of tests. So in that moment, it was no longer in my hands. Shonda Park says her eldest daughter, just 21 years old, was on her way to see the holiday light show at Aloha Stadium when she was struck and killed by Jason Abad, also 21. He's now awaiting trial on charges of DUI and causing an accident involving death. And Park is turning her grief into action. I honestly feel that what happened to my daughter and what happened to many other loved ones, you know, families that are suffering is 100% preventable. This year, Park launched Safe Ride Hawaii, providing two drivers, one to bring the intoxicated person home and the other to drive their car home. The butterfly on the logo represents Azalea. Park is backed by mothers against drunk driving. And it educates the community about things that they can do or other people are doing to end drunk driving to stop these senseless tragedies. So I think it's just, you know, a really great effort and we morally support her. The group Responsibility.org says about a third of all Hawaii's traffic fatalities involve alcohol. In 2019, there were 36 DUI deaths. That was actually down about 19% from 2010. It's no consolation to Azalea's family. Her mother says no one should die from someone else's bad judgment. And the pain that I went through and the pain that I'm still going through, I don't want other people to experience that and whatever I can do to step up, make a difference. That's what I want to do. So Teresa, like Brian, you know, who was very close to his sister, Azalea has a sister that's just a year younger, Shayna and a brother that's eight years younger. So they were very, very close. So not just me, her siblings are, you know, just still devastated. And especially in the month of December, you know, the holidays will never be the same without him. No, and I'm so, so sorry. It's so heartbreaking to watch that video and to see the pain that families go through. And each and every one of these numbers, when I talk about the number of people killed, they're family members, they're loved ones, they're our children, they're our mothers, our fathers, you know, aunts and uncles or co-workers. It has to stop. And we have to continue working to stop it. Yes. So the day after Thanksgiving, just a couple of weeks ago, the mayor was so generous in giving us an hour of his time to share about Safe Pride Hawaii. And he and his staff will be working to find ways to connect us and to support us. And, you know, I know for you in the many years that you've been working hard, you know, to speak with everyone just like me, I want you to please share about the Mad Victim Memorial in March of 2003. Next slide, please. Well, first, I'd like to commend you for starting Safe Pride Hawaii and doing your part in removing drunk drivers from our roads. The victim memorial was a result of many years of work and thought to have something tangible to bring awareness to the issue of these senseless deaths that were occurring in Hawaii. And each and every year, we're losing about 30 to 40 people in Hawaii alone. Nationally, it's anywhere from 10,000 to 11,000 and possibly 12,000 this year. The numbers keep going up and this is something that we have to stop. Again, these numbers are lives, lives of loved ones. So back to the memorial, we wanted to build something. We had a committee that came together and we raised the money through private donations, private and corporate donations and we had to go through an approval process to place it in the park. We also put out an RFP for artists and John Koga was the winning artist and he built this poignant statue that shows a family, a mother, father and child all with a hole in their heart because of the loss of their loved one. And it speaks to many of us, but especially the impaired driving, which is preventable and needs to stop. It just is time that we all work together on this. Yes, it is a community effort. And I know that there's a walk like mad as well. If we can just bring up the next several slides. So the walk is something, we've had different versions of that since mad was started. Mad was started 38 years ago in Hawaii and we had something called the mad dash that some of the old timers might remember and now it's the walk like mad. And you were there at our last walk, Shonda. And yeah, it takes courage to show up to these events as a newly bereaved parent. And also you started us off with the Zumba, which was wonderful too. It was held at Kakaoka Waterfront Park, which is where the memorial is. It was a beautiful sunny day. The walk is our one and only fundraiser. It is the only thing that keeps mad in existence in Hawaii. So it's very necessary. And it was a success. We had about 400 people in attendance along with our 80 wonderful volunteers. And it's a fun event. I like it because it's really the only fun thing that we do and includes the entire family. And at the walk like mad, we had a special ritual down at the victim memorial, which is the other end. And we had a tent and prayer flags that were available to victims or anybody who knows a person who has been killed in a drunk driving crash. And they were able to write the victim's name on the prayer flag and any special note that they would like. And then they were hung on the line that blew in the wind by the ocean. And it was quite scenic and quite beautiful and quite comforting for victims. Yeah, I'm glad that I took part in it. And again, it was my first one because in 2021, everything the whole year was just an entire blur. And even in 2022, I contemplated, can I even get myself to get out and be around people? And I'm glad that I showed up because the love and the support that's there. And I really felt it. And know that there's people there that understand what I'm going through. I'm glad that you were able to make it, but we wouldn't understand if you weren't. The first time that I seen the memorial, you know, when you explained it to me, I had no idea what it was, but actually being part of Walk Like Mad and seeing that memorial and part of the prayer flag that you just spoke about, it was an amazing day. So glad that you came. So glad you were there. Yes. So let's talk about the next one. Let's talk about the Taiwan on First Safety. Share about what that is and how long has it been in existence? Well, it's 36 years now that National had started this and Mad, Hawaii has always participated. And it's also a tangible item. You know, Mad is all about public awareness, but everything that we do is usually just about talking. But the red ribbon is the tangible piece that we distribute throughout the state. And we ask people, they're distributed and can be picked up at various locations. You can go on our website there, but we ask people to pick it up. And what you do is you make a commitment to tie this on your vehicle. And the commitment is that you will never drink and drive. And then this ribbon, and we also have decals and magnet ribbons as well, because people don't always have a place to tie it. But it's telling the other people on the road that you have made that commitment and you are a safe and sober driver. That is wonderful. That is wonderful. And you said 36 years? Yes, we've had that in existence and we distributed 25,000 ribbons statewide. And we also had the first responders in attendance at this kickoff, as you see with the police tying the ribbons on their motorcycles. And we had just every branch, the military, the Coast Guard, Fire Department, Police Department, everybody involved tying on red ribbons. I'll be tying mine on and passing it out to all my friends and family as well and sharing this information. Good, wonderful. Thank you. So now, you know, this show is called Money Talks. So let's talk about the money that's involved in DUI and everything involving DUI. If you can bring up the next slide, please. Usually people don't think about the costs that's involved. And of course, the life that's lost or injured is foremost. And we do want people to not drink and drive because of that. But it also is a cost factor to America. And it's $132 billion a year that it costs the country. And that's just in, that's not even including lawsuits, you know, personal lawsuits and things like that. It's all the other damages and expense on resources if there's a drunk driving crash. And then if that's not enough to change behaviors, then the individual driver also has expense if they get apprehended drinking and driving. And I want to say that before the first arrest, the driver has probably driven 80 times drunk before they're apprehended. And so they're just, you know, it's like a Russian roulette that they're playing on the road. The expense that they're going to encounter after an arrest, you know, it's going to be a bail court fees, attorney fees, insurance goes up. In this state, hopefully they're going to get an ignition interlock, which is going to cost anywhere from 1200 to 1500 a year. And miscellaneous other expenses that could total 13,000 up to 27,000 a year. So this has to be considered by each and every person that's taking the risk of drinking and driving. But the foremost reason is they do not do not or should not injure or kill someone. Yes, exactly. That is first and foremost. However, the cost factor, when you think about 27,000, can you imagine on average, it could just cost someone $27 to make that decision to get home safe by using some kind of rideshare? Exactly. And that's what you offer today. You offer the alternative. And that's what, you know, we have Uber, Lyft, taxis, and now we have rideshare Hawaii. So there's no excuse. Yeah. And we have friends and family that so many people who don't drink are willing to be designated drivers. Exactly. It's a matter of letting go of that ego or saying I can and getting out of that mentality, right? That, oh no, I'm fine, I'm fine. I can drive. So that definitely has to stop. Exactly. And that's true about that mentality. The people who think, oh, I'm okay, or I don't wanna leave my car or just whatever excuse. And there is a campaign by the Department of Transportation called No Excuses. There is no excuse to drive drunk. There are so many options today. Yes, there are. Yes. Next slide, please. So I want you to share about this picture. I had the opportunity recently to meet the president, not of the United States, but the national president of MAD. So, Theresa, please share about this picture here. Yes, thank you for coming to the events that we had, a meet and greet. And also she was at the Walk Like Mad. Alex Audie was just 24 years old when she became the national president of MAD. And many of us who have been around for as long as I have thought that she was far too young. But boy, were we surprised. She was an amazing president. And she had been injured at the age of 13 while she was sitting on a jet ski in a lake in Kentucky when a speeding drunk boater plowed into her, throwing her off the jet ski. Her parents were standing nearby. They thought she had died. They were happy to find that she was still living. They had to lift the jet ski and other stuff off of her. She was rushed to emergency. She was in a coma for a month. She had multiple surgeries, traumatic brain injury, a broken jaw. And in that picture, you will see that her right leg was severed. She has a prosthetic. So since the age of 13, she has been an advocate against impaired driving, which also means boating. And the picture with the national president of the country, President Biden, is a really happy picture because it was after he signed the infrastructure law, which has a provision in it to end drunk driving. And it was years and years of work that brought this to fruition. This law was signed last November, 2021. And what happened, it was just a combination of factors and including Zoom with COVID, I have to say, because it made people think outside the box and our officials at our national office brought together 60 victims across the country on Zoom every week for about two years to work on this. It was incredible progress that was made in two years to have this passed and signed into law. But what it uses is advanced technology and it's actually software technology. And this software technology has been around since 2017. And we came to find out because one of our victims on our calls worked with the auto industry and he actually had gone back to them after he lost his daughter, who had just given birth to twins and she was returning from the NICU after visiting them when she was killed by a drunk driver. And she had four young boys at home, total of six children now lost their mother. And his name is Ken Snyder and he brought information forward that told us what had been going on in the auto industry where they were not using this technology because they wanted to upcharge people, made it optional when you purchased a car. The technology is estimated to save, once it's instituted, could save 9,400 lives. And so now it has been signed. It is with NHTSA, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, to do the rulemaking, which is to be done within five years and MAD is watching them closely to make sure that they do this because government sometimes drags their heels and then once the rulemaking is done, which the technology will be about the driver assistance technology like lane change that's already in cars, you're familiar with that. And then there's driver performance which is where a passive camera will take pictures of the driver maybe nodding their head too much or closing their eyes. And then the third technology is a sensor in like maybe the steering wheel that can detect the BAC. And so as I said, over 240 technologies that are available today were neutral on what NHTSA chooses. They can choose a combination of things in their rulemaking, but let's get this done and done as soon as possible and let's save lives. I was really happy to hear this news. I had no idea. So thank you for keeping me posted when it went to legislation and passed the bill. And it was just really great news when you shared that with me and when the national president of MAD flew here to Hawaii and shared the news about this driving prevention technologies. And she also shared that she really sees this happening in her lifetime. It really gave me hope that I too will still be alive to see this happen. And it's not going to be in the next lifetime or the next one after that. It is happening and it's happening in this lifetime. Yeah, it is. It's the only hopeful thing that has come along that would save thousands of lives. And so who wouldn't want to do that? So let's hope that they move along as fast as possible. Yes, because of the fact that we now know that it's been around since 2017. It's been five years, almost six years now. So imagine how many lives could have been saved if this was already in place. Exactly, exactly. Because as I said earlier, 10,000 or more lives are lost each and every year to impaired driving. And it's not just impaired driving that they'll catch in this with this technology. It'll be drowsy and distracted driving as well. So that figure, a number of lives saved will go up. Yes, it will. And unfortunately it took someone losing their family member to actually put this in place. Right, Teresa? Yes, it was a combination. It was Ken Snyder and there was also another family, the Abbas family in Detroit, Michigan. And Senator Dingwell was very, I'm sorry, house, she was from the house representative. She was very instrumental in getting this push. So there were the Abbas family lost by family members. It's just horrendous, the devastation is horrendous, but it was a combination of people. I just can't say enough. The right people came together at the right time and most of them came together on Zoom, which is wonderful. Yes, that is. Yes, during COVID and the work never stops. So that's just really amazing. And bring up the last slide, please. So thank you, Teresa, for sharing all of this information today. And thank you for your incredible work for all these years. And for me, meeting you for the first time when my daughter was killed at her sign waving on December 26, 2020, we did a sign waving December 26, the following year. This year, Teresa and I will be together again to sign wave this coming Saturday, December 17th at 4 p.m. So please join us, we'll be on the corner of Kahua Paanistri and Ala Aliistri in Halawa, near Ice Palace. So thank you again. Let's work together to end fatalities caused by driving under the influence. Teresa, thank you again. I will see you this Saturday. I hope to see everyone there. Yes, sure. Yes, see you then. Thank you so much, Shonda. Thank you, Teresa. See you on the next Money Talks. Have a safe holiday season. Aloha. Thank you so much for watching Think Tech Hawaii. 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