Rockville Drunk-Driving Victim Remembered as State Announces Safe Driving App

While crossing a suburban Maryland street in October 2010, 26-year-old Rory Joseph Weichbrod of Rockville was hit by a speeding car driven by a drunk driver. The injuries from this collision took his life.

Four years later, Luke Weichbrod honored his older brother’s memory by sharing his story as a guest speaker at Maryland Remembers on Dec. 11, where he joined Maryland State Police Superintendent Col. Marcus Brown, National President of Mothers Against Drunk Driving Jan Withers, and Chief of the Maryland Highway State Office Tom Gianni to speak out against drunk driving.

“Impaired driving is wrong and leads to life-altering consequences,” Luke Weichbrod told Patch in an interview. “My brother was tragically killed by a selfish impaired driver [who committed] a 100-percent preventable crime. Yet people consistently chose to do the wrong thing. It is very frustrating knowing people continue to choose convenience over safety.”

Luke Weichbrod’s sobering reminder comes just in time for the winter holiday season, when the number of drivers who get behind the wheel while under the influence of alcohol or drugs is at its peak. Coupled with poor weather conditions, this means a notable increase in accidents, injuries and fatalities.

A memorial service dedicated to the victims killed by impaired drivers, the 11th annual Maryland Remembers gathered victims’ friends and families along with state officials from the transportation and police departments and leaders from anti-drunk driving organizations. The event’s speakers unanimously emphasized the dangers of impaired driving, as well as the imperative of keeping roads safe for pedestrians and drivers alike.

An intensely emotional day for many in attendance, Luke Weichbrod’s story proved that positive action can arise from tragedy.

“Shortly after Rory was killed, I knew I had to do something,” Luke Weichbrod told Patch. “[While] the loss of my brother remains foremost in my being, I [choose] not to let his loss be in vain.”

So, the Weichbrod family founded a nonprofit, charitable foundation in honor of Rory, one they fittingly named Rory J. Weichbrod’s Unfinished Business, Inc. The organization, for which Luke Weichbrod now serves as the executive director, has thrived with the support from its community and continues to give back by hosting an annual 5K race and offering scholarships for young students.

As for the 5K, Luke Weichbrod believes that Rory, as an athlete himself, would have supported a community-friendly event that raises awareness of drunk-driving fatalities and ways to prevent them.

At last week’s memorial the Maryland Motor Vehicle Association announced its latest tactic to deter intoxicated drivers from getting behind the wheel: a free anti-drunk driving app, ENDUI -- pronounced End-DUI.

With the tagline, “Make a Plan. Stick to it,” the app provides users with the tools to create a plan when they go out drinking. Available for Android and iPhone, ENDUI allows users to quickly call a designated driver, order a cab, estimate their blood alcohol level by inputting their gender, weight and alcohol consumption, and test their mental clarity with games that measure concentration levels and reaction time.

In concert with the app, Maryland officials employ a number of enforcement strategies that promote safe driving. The two most effective methods have proven to be setting up sobriety checkpoints and deploying a high concentration of officers in areas where drunk driving incidents have been historically prevalent, according to Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration spokesperson Buel Young.

These tactics inspired the launch of the State Police Impaired Driving Effort -- or SPIDRE -- in 2013. Comprised of seven Maryland State Police troopers, the specialized enforcement team is specifically dedicated to DUI control and has made more than 1,000 arrests in its first year.

“Coupled with [sobriety checkpoints and SPIDRE], we use the media,” Young added. “That’s where you see the ‘Drive Over or Get Pulled Over’ campaign. It’s part of letting individuals know that law enforcement is out there so if you’re driving impaired, you will get pulled over and you will have to deal with the consequences.”

The state also allows residents to notify law enforcement of drunk driving through the 9-1-1 emergency line.

“If you’re out and you’re driving and you see a vehicle that is swerving in the lanes and driving erratically, that’s something you can report,” Young told Patch.

According to the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration’s Highway Safety Office, 152 people were killed in alcohol related crashes in 2013, accounting for 33 percent of all traffic fatalities last year.

While these statistics reveal that the number of impaired driving-related injuries and fatalities is at its lowest in five years, we could all do well to remember that each of 2013’s 138 recorded fatal crashes made a victim of someone’s family member, someone’s friend, or someone who took every measure they could to stay safe that day.

Photos courtesy of the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration’s Highway Safety Office.

Related Links:

• Holiday Sobriety Checkpoints, DUI Patrols Begin

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