From: Jason Britsch Subject: TxDOT Media Advisory: TxDOT Hosts #EndtheStreakTX Event to Reduce Traffic Fatalities
| Media advisory
Amarillo District |
| TxDOT HOSTS #ENDTHESTREAKTX EVENT TO REDUCE TRAFFIC FATALITIES
Nov. 7, 2000 marks last deathless day on Texas roadways |
November 6, 2024
| WHEN: | Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024, from 2 – 3 p.m. |
| WHERE: | Amarillo Chamber of Commerce
1000 S. Polk St. Amarillo, TX 79101 |
| MEDIA: | TxDOT seeks to raise awareness about preventing impaired and distracted driving on Texas roadways |
AMARILLO – Nov. 7, 2024 marks 24 years since there has not been a death on Texas roadways. To raise awareness, TxDOT will host its #EndTheStreakTX event at the Amarillo Chamber of Commerce building on Thursday, Nov. 7 from 2 – 3 p.m.
Representatives from the Potter and Randall County Sheriff’s Offices, Amarillo Police Department and other first responding agencies will join TxDOT to speak about the impacts of driving while distracted or impaired. Local resident Enrique Aguirre will talk about how his family’s life changed because of impaired driving.
Aguirre’s wife, daughter, mother-in-law, father-in-law and nephew were all killed in a head-on crash in Amarillo in December 2021. The family was struck by a driver going the wrong way on north State Loop (SL) 335. The person that collided with the family members was found guilty on five counts of intoxication manslaughter and sentenced to 45 years in prison.
There were *7,198 traffic crashes resulting in 78 fatalities and 315 serious injuries in the Amarillo District in 2023. The biggest driving mistakes that cause most people to die in Texas in order are:
– Failure to drive in a single lane
– Drunk driving
– Pedestrian failed to yield to vehicle
– Driving at unsafe speeds
There have been more than 87,000 fatalities resulting from motor vehicle traffic crashes statewide since Nov. 7, 2000, the last deathless day on Texas roadways.
#EndTheStreakTX is a social media effort to raise awareness about the long streak of traffic deaths in Texas and how this is an issue that impacts every Texan. TxDOT aims to reach a goal to cut fatal crashes in half by 2035 and end all fatalities in 2050.
| Contact Jason Britsch at jason.britsch@txdot.gov or (806) 356-3256.
*Information contained in this advisory represents reportable data collected from Texas Peace Officer’s Crash Reports (CR-3) received and processed by TxDOT as of the report date. The Amarillo district consists of the following counties: Armstrong, Carson, Dallam, Deaf Smith, Gray, Hansford, Hartley, Hemphill, Hutchinson, Lipscomb, Moore, Ochiltree, Oldham, Potter, Randall, Roberts, and Sherman. The Texas Department of Transportation is responsible for maintaining 80,000 miles of road and for supporting aviation, maritime, rail and public transportation across the state. Connecting You with Texas TxDOT Newsroom |
Jason Britsch
Public Information Officer
Texas Department of Transportation
Amarillo District
5715 Canyon Drive
Amarillo, Texas 79110
(806) 356-3256 O
jason.britsch@txdot.gov
X: @TxDOTAmarillo
Facebook: Texas Department of Transportation (Amarillo)