LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Ahead of Super Bowl 58, local nonprofit STOP DUI, Nevada State Police, and families who lost loved ones to impaired drivers came together to ask drivers to think before they get behind the wheel.
During a press conference Thursday morning, inside the NSP Southern Command Headquarters, each family member shared their stories as they held a picture of a loved one whose life were taken too soon.
"It gets easier to hide your emotions but it feels like it just happened yesterday," said Robin Wynkoop, who lost her mother to an impaired driver.
Wynkoop's mother was killed by an impaired driver nearly 15 years ago. Her mother, Patricia Hoff, was waiting at a bus stop near Boulder and Flamingo with her friend, Porshe Hughes, when an impaired driver plowed into them.
"Steven Murray came and crashed right into the bus stop. He was high on prescription pills. So that's another thing that people think. 'Oh. I didn't take that many pills. I am fine.' You can still over-prescribe yourself. He over-prescribed himself, so he went to prison. But during COVID, they overturned his sentence, so he is out right now," Wynkoop said. "And he's had three prior DUIs, so it just hurts that certain people won't get the message: 'Hey. I had one prior DUI maybe I should stop.'"
She said Murray stole the opportunity for her kids to create memories with their grandmother.
"The kids don't have the grandparents to call or the grandparents to cook and teach them things," Wynkoop said.
Adam Chapel lost his 21-year-old sister to an impaired driver in the early morning of January 13, 2024.
Chapel said his sister, Suzanne Chapel, who was pregnant, and her boyfriend, Isahiah Armstrong, were driving home when they ran out of gas and had to pull off to the side of the road near I-15 and Cheyenne.
Shortly after, both were struck by a drunk driver who was also speeding.
"It still doesn't feel real to me. I'm still kind of in shock from it all. I pulled up to the crash site after it happened and it's just things that won't leave my brain," Chapel said. "The man who killed [them has] a second DUI. He is out on bail, which doesn't sit right with me, it just doesn't. He murdered my sister.
He was asleep the night of the crash but said he was woken up by his mother's frantic cry.
"I woke up to my mom screaming. I go out and I'm like what's up? She says Suzie's dead. I thought I was dreaming. 'What are you talking about? I was just on the phone with her' and she said, 'Suzie's dead. She was killed by a drunk driver.' I just hopped on the car and drove to the site. It was on the 15-Cheyenne. I just pulled off on the side. The crash site was there. I saw the crash site. I ran up like that's my little sister, my little sister. Cops and firefighters took me away from there."
Chapel said he and his mom are now taking care of the six-month-old baby she left behind. Armstrong survived the crash but was severely injured and has a long journey to recovery.
"I lost the love of my life. I called her honeybee," Armstrong said. "It's tough. I wake up frustrated. I wake up angry. You know, I miss her so much."
"Drunk driving is a choice. It's no accident. People use the word accident. Getting behind the wheel drunk is done on purpose and it's a senseless act and it can be avoided. Lives can be saved. Do not drive drunk under any circumstances. Ever," said Kandi Goods, Armstrong's mother.
Pat Meints' great-grandson, Kamari Wolfe, was struck and killed by a drunk driver on his way to kindergarten on October 6, 2023. Kamari was only 6 years old.
"I relieve it all the time," Meints said as tears streamed down her face. "He's always with us. Always."
"That was her buddy. The person she always used to hang out with and would stay at home with her and hand out in her room. He never wanted to go anywhere. He just wanted to stay with her," Mamari's mother said.
Meints is sharing her heartache and grief with others to prevent impaired drivers from getting on the roads during the Super Bowl and hurting themselves and hurting others.
"Always take somebody along to drive," Meints said. "People should be more responsible. Don't drink if you are impaired."
According to STOP DUI, there's a roughly 40% spike in drunk driving incidents on Super Bowl Sunday.
They add that during the two hours it takes to watch the Super Bowl, three people will die and 60 others will be injured.
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- Date: Sunday, Feb. 11, 2024 (all day until 11:59 p.m.)
- Discount: $10 off one ride
- Code: SUPERSUNDAY2024
