MAINE, USA — A person's life is forever changed after a drunk or drugged driving crash.
But for the first time in Maine, a specially trained Mothers Against Drunk Driving, or MADD, advocate has been helping victims and survivors channel their grief into hope and healing.
Twenty-eight years ago last month, Nicole Hutchinson was getting ready to meet up with her little sister Darcie in their hometown of Houlton to plan her wedding to her high school sweetheart. But she got the call that her sister, who was living in Connecticut, died in a car crash.
"The hardest thing I have ever done besides burying her was to find my brother and tell him my little sister had died," Hutchinson recalled, holding back tears.
Darcie was just 21 years old when Robert A. Milefski, whose blood alcohol was twice the legal limit in Connecticut, plowed into her compact car and crushed it against a telephone pole. Milefski, a three-time drunk driver offender, was sentenced to 10 years in prison, with five years suspended.
Connecticut's Mothers Against Drunk Driving, or MADD, reached out with support and resources—something that was not available for Darcie's family back home.
"When I needed support, I didn't have that in Maine," Hutchinson added.
The tragedy galvanized Hutchinson to start a MADD chapter in Maine in 2016 and organize Walk Like MADD Maine events in Houlton to raise awareness and funds to eliminate drunk and drugged driving.
She also worked to hire a trained advocate to help victims and survivors in her home state for the first time. Since joining MADD's Victim Services Specialist in June, Lisa Rivers has worked with dozens of loved ones. A former victims advocate at the Kennebec County District Attorney's Office, Rivers helps survivors with funeral arrangements and access to counseling. She also attends court proceedings and services that are free and available to the public.
"Victims feel scared; they are lonely, angry, and confused. They feel very alone, and they need somebody there for them," Rivers explained.
Rivers also works with police officers like Sgt. Mallory Clayton with the East Millinocket Police Department.
"When you get behind the wheel impaired, it's not only dangerous to you but to everyone else," Clayton explained.
Clayton has volunteered with MADD since college. According to statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, more than 40 percent of traffic fatalities in Maine this year involved alcohol. Clayton said the Millinocket area has also seen an increase in alcohol-related crashes and incidents over the past few months.
"In the last few days, we have had a few OUIs. One was a female, and she blew a point one nine," Clayton said.
Hutchinson, who now works with the MADD chapter in North Carolina, hopes Mainers will join loved ones at the Walk Like MADD Maine at Stearns High School in Millinocket at 9 a.m. Saturday. Rivers and Clayton are both helping organize the walk. The hope is the event will attract more volunteers and spread awareness in schools and communities that impaired driving is preventable.