HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — As you get ready to celebrate the holidays with family and friends, police want you to have a plan so you don't get behind the wheel after drinking.
"That one decision is like taking a picture frame, throwing it on the ground, and the glass shattering,” Linda Unfried said. “That's what it did to my family."
One person's choice changed Unfried's life forever.
"There's times with different things that occur in my life that I just want to pick up the phone and say, 'Hey Josie, I'm a great-grandmother now,' but I can't,” Unfried said.
It's been 41 years since a drunk driver hit and killed Unfried's sister, Josie. The ripple effect of that moment impacted more than just her family.
"It even affected the wrecker driver who towed her car away,” Unfried said. “I met him, and he said that his wife drove the same car and that he had never been the same since."
The Wednesday before Thanksgiving is considered one of the biggest drinking nights of the year. The sobering reminder from law enforcement today and every day: never drink and drive.
"Buzzed driving is drunk driving, and we will have extra enforcements out this entire weekend,” said Tampa Police Chief Lee Bercaw. “If you're going to get behind a wheel impaired, you're going to get pulled over, and you're going to be held accountable."
Data from the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles shows in 2024, more than 4,000 alcohol-related crashes have killed 145 people statewide and injured more than 2,300.
"She has three grandchildren she never met,” Unfried said of her sister.
Unfried urges people to make a plan before leaving the house because it could save a life.
"You've got to make your plans to be responsible and get a designated driver," Unfried said. "Whatever you need to do to get home safely and to keep everyone else safe in this community, do it.”
The widow of a Pinellas Park firefighter turned to Susan Solves It after she was cut off from the savings her husband left behind for her.
