Monument to Ontario victims of impaired driving crashes coming to Brampton

Brampton will soon be home to a monument honouring the victims of impaired driving in Ontario.

Work is underway on the Mothers Against Drunk Driving Canada (MADD) Ontario Memorial Monument to remember Ontarians killed in crashes involving alcohol and drugs.

The monument, which will be engraved with the names of victims of impaired driving crashes, is expected to be unveiled in June at Brampton’s Chinguacousy Park.

“For each name, there are families, friends and communities that will grieve forever,” said Louise Anne Lamoureux, director of victim services with MADD Canada. “It is all the more tragic considering that impaired driving is entirely preventable. MADD Canada is committed to ensuring these victims and their loved ones are never forgotten.”

MAAD Canada is accepting applications for names to be added to the monument and anyone who has lost a loved one as a result of an alcohol- or drug-related crash consumption can submit a name by visiting the MADD Canada website.

The proposed site of the MADD Ontario Memorial Monument in Brampton’s Chinguacousy Park

One of the victims included on the Ontario monument is DJ Hancock –  the brother of MADD Canada National President Jaymie-Lyne Hancock. She says DJ was driving home from a hockey tryout in August of 2014 when he was struck by a driver who had more than twice the legal limit of alcohol in their system.

DJ died in his car with his parents on the scene. And while Lyne said it will be “difficult and emotional” to see her brother’s name on the monument, it will also be “incredibly meaningful for my parents and me.”

“It will be a permanent tribute that acknowledges the tragedy of his death, and everything our family has lost,” she said. “Holidays, graduations, weddings and the day-to-day activities that families share, we will never have DJ there for those moments.”

Similar monuments with the names of impaired driving victims have been built in other provinces, including Newfoundland and Labrador, Saskatchewan and Alberta, to honour their memories and educate the public about the risks of impaired driving.

For more information or to submit a name to the MAAD Canada Ontario Memorial Monument, visit www.madd.ca.