Drunken drivers' victims mourned/ MADD vigil draws attention to

They gathered in Acacia Park on Saturday night to light candles and remember the ones they can no longer talk with or touch - the ones killed by drunken drivers.

"I light this candle for my little brother," one woman said.

The event was the first for the Pikes Peak Region chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

"It's nice to be with people who share the same thing," said Sonny Shamblin, 30, who lost two cousins in car wrecks.

"Sometimes that's what it takes to make people wake up and realize that alcohol's not the answer."

The period between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day is one of the most deadliest on roadways, MADD reports. During that period last year, 1,610 people were killed nationwide in alcohol-related wrecks.

"The message is don't drink and drive or you could be out here with us paying tribute to your loved ones," said Penny Wagner, president of the local MADD chapter. Wagner's 17-year-old niece was killed by a drunken driver.

Some people spent a few minutes Saturday looking at photos of local victims who were either killed or injured by drunken drivers. Above the photos read, "We will remember you!"

"My mom's up there," one girl said.

As Wagner stood in front of a tree adorned with 232 red ribbons that represented each person killed in alcohol-related wrecks in Colorado last year, she told victims to understand the pain will remain.

"Don't try to go over, under or around your pain," she said. "Instead, lean into it.

"You will never be the same, but you will be better."

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