Trooper helps kick off campaign to curb drunken driving

RICHMOND — C.L. Thomas saw the old Toyota Camry stop at the intersection of U.S. 29 and English Tavern Road, then suddenly pull out in front of his state police cruiser.

Thomas, a Campbell County trooper, knew he couldn’t stop in time. The two cars collided with an impact so hard the cruiser’s wheel broke from its axle, the windshield cracked and the roof began to buckle.

As the cruiser careened towards oncoming traffic, Thomas wondered if he would ever see his wife and children again.

“I felt vulnerable, helpless. I had no control,” the senior trooper said. He had become a statistic.

Thomas is one of four Virginia State Troopers to be hit by people charged with drunken driving since July 1.

Thomas, along with Gov. Bob McDonnell and State Police Col. Steve Flaherty, among others, kicked off the start of the eighth annual Checkpoint Strikeforce campaign to reduce drunken driving-related injuries and fatalities Thursday afternoon.

“As a law enforcement officer you never believe you are going to be a victim,” Thomas said. “In the late night hours of July 31, that’s exactly what I became.”

The driver charged in the crash remains in jail, charged with driving under the influence and driving after being declared a habitual offender. Thomas said the man had already been caught behind the wheel twice that month, before the crash.

He considers himself lucky to be alive because his car stopped in the median and did not run into oncoming traffic.

Thomas tried to get out of his car and stand, but his right leg buckled under him and he fell back against the car. Other drivers stopped to help the injured trooper.

More than a month later, Thomas is still in pain and doctors are trying to come up with a way to help him.

“Despite my injuries and the constant pain I still endure, I consider my crash a good one,” Thomas said. “A good one because I walked away. Not every victim hit by a drunk driver gets that chance.”

The cost of drunken driving is high, said McDonnell. It’s not only the risk of a crash, but also penalties that can include mandatory jail time, immediate license revocation, and confiscation of the offender’s vehicle, among others.

“Use the buddy system. Use a friend. Call a cab. Don’t get behind the wheel,” McDonnell said.

John Saunders, director of the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicle’s highway safety services, called alcohol-related driving fatalities an “unacceptable tragedy.”

Checkpoint Strikeforce campaign commercials are flooding radio and television, presenting the risks of intoxicated driving. The commercials target men ages 21 to 35, the group at a statistically higher risk for becoming offenders. The ads will run more than 34,000 times from now until December.

“The goal is to make someone think before they act,” Saunders said. “It can mean one less drunk behind the wheel, one less crash that takes a life and one less empty chair during the holidays.”

Since the program’s inception in 2002, Virginia has seen a 16 percent reduction in alcohol-related fatalities.

As Labor Day weekend approaches, McDonnell said law enforcement will be out in force conducting checkpoints and saturation patrols. For the rest of 2010, there will be at least one checkpoint or saturation patrol per week targeting intoxicated drivers.

Checkpoints and saturation patrols thus far this year have netted almost 20,000 arrests.

“But those are 20,000 people that still chose to drive drunk,” Flaherty said. “Drunk driving is not worth the risk. I ask that you make the smart, safe and sober decision.”

The Virginia State Police will have 75 percent of its workforce out during the Labor Day holiday weekend.

“If you are driving drunk, we will catch you. We will arrest you and you will pay the consequences,” Flaherty said.