PHOENIX — While many people are ringing in the new year with loved ones, one Valley mom is reflecting on a somber anniversary.
Seven years ago, Deb Scarlett lost her 31-year -old son, Christopher John Ruiz, after a crash with a wrong-way driver.
Scarlett hopes to change the system, ultimately protecting innocent drivers trying to make it home safely.
"He was a gentle giant. He was a friend to everybody," she described.
Scarlett lost her only son after he was hit and killed instantly on January 10, 2016. She said he was on his way home from hanging out with buddies, driving on Loop 303 near Bell Road, when he was hit.
"Christopher was hit by a repeat offender, drugged, drunk driver. The drugged, drunk driver drove 12 miles before killing my son, and that's when our life changed."
She's now working closely with other parents suffering the same loss and vowing to advocate for adjustments to Arizona laws, calling for stricter consequences, and even using social media to spread the heartfelt message not to get behind the wheel under the influence.
"I want to stress the importance of the intervention of going in front of our lawmakers and really looking at what's happening to innocent people who are driving."
The Arizona Governor's Office of Highway Safety reported that between December 1 through the 20th of this year, there were 884 DUI arrests.
While those drivers' actions don't always result in a wrong-way crash, they do threaten the lives of others. Scarlett said thermal cameras simply aren't enough.
"Although the cameras are a good idea, there's so few of them, and they're expensive, which is why there's so few of them."
She wants to see "buddy alerts" light up existing ADOT signs in hopes of saving someone from the pain and loss of this ongoing problem.
"If my son had the opportunity to have signage to warn him that a wrong-way driver was there 12 miles, 10 miles, 8 miles ahead of him, I may have my son here today."
To read Deb's blog, visit her Facebook page.
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