Debbie Hardy wears a pooh-bear charm around her neck. Something real to remind her she isn't imagining this heartache.
"I used to be a Girl Scout leader, a Sunday school teacher, a soccer mom, and I woke up one morning and everything in my life had changed," Debbie said.
It was October 26, 2003, and her youngest daughter, Janet, was on the way to volunteer with a friend and her family. But they never made it.
"At the age of 13 she was killed by a drunk driver here in Harford County."
A horrible crash that could have been prevented. Yet people continue to die in similar wrecks.
Preliminary data shows 2016 was the deadliest year on Maryland’s roadways since 2009, with 523 lives lost. Numbers that have officials concerned.
Statewide there is a goal to reduce roadway fatalities by 50% in the next two decades, and a key way to get there is having local jurisdictions create their own Strategic Highway Safety Plans.
Harford County is one of two localities in the state that already have a plan in place. They also have a Traffic Safety Advisory Board that makes safety recommendations, and a Traffic Safety Task Force that targets areas that are hotspots for crashes, speeding or reckless driving.
"One day a week all law enforcement agencies in the County, we partner with each other, we go out to different jurisdictions and we conduct traffic enforcement," said Sgt. Mike Lane with the Harford County Sheriff’s Office
He says the high visibility and public awareness from the weekly blitz is helping to save lives.
"We need to be making a difference in the areas where we're having the problems,” Lane said. “A lot of times that can just be our presence in that area, people will see a police officer and they slow down, they put the phone down, whatever, we're solving a problem for that area for that time."
In the nearly 14-years since Janet was hit, Debbie has also tried to help others. She volunteers for Mothers Against Drunk Driving, teaches and speaks about her daughter, and is also a member of the County Advisory Board.
"I have to wake up every single day and my child is not here, so if I can do something that will save someone else's child, then I’m gonna do it," Debbie said.
