YORKTOWN, Va. — It's the last big travel weekend of the summer. That's why police are out on patrol asking drivers to pay attention and drive sober.
Tammy Gweedo McGee wants that too.
"And you know, I knew. I knew when I hung up that phone call that he was dead. Call it mother's intuition," said Tammy Gweedo McGee who lost her son to a reckless driver.
She will never forget the day in 2019 when her son Conner was killed. He'd been a joyful kid, a star athlete and a junior at Tabb High School in Yorktown. At the time, he had been in a car with friends after a homecoming dance.
"What we know now, it's not an accident. It's a crash. When you go out and you deliberately speed, reckless drive, post and brag about it, that's not an accident," said Gweedo McGee.
An investigation by Virginia State Police revealed the teen driver of the car was unlicensed and speeding.
Tammy isn't the only mother grieving a loss due to reckless driving. The days between Memorial Day and Labor Day are known by AAA as the '100 deadliest days for teen drivers.' It's when traffic-related fatalities increase significantly.
"Of course we're coming to the end of that period but obviously we have the holiday this weekend. We're going to be out in force," explained Matt Demlein, spokesperson for Virginia State Police.
Demlein said Virginia had a deadly start to summer as VSP investigated 25 fatalities the week after Memorial Day.
Now as summer winds down he says preliminary numbers for highway fatalities are still too high.
As of Aug. 15, VSP reported there have been 504 highway fatalities this year. That's compared to 514 last year. Also during the 2023 Labor Day weekend, Virginia State Police arrested 73 people for DWI, and cited 4,475 speeders and over 1,900 reckless drivers.
Demlein said drivers need to pay attention, stay the speed limit and drive sober.
"You're dealing with a large piece of equipment. Large machinery. A car is a dangerous piece of equipment and you really need to be focused on what you're doing when you're driving. It only takes a second for things to go really wrong," said Demlein.
"Every body thinks it's not going to happen to them, right? I didn't think it would happen to me and I know Conner didn't think it would happen to him, but it's that one split-second decision that can change the whole trajectory of your life," said Gweedo McGee.
She wants others to listen.
"What I found through my advocacy is a way to work on that grief each and every day. So I still get to say his name, honor his legacy, talk about him, show pictures and videos of him, and encourage other teenagers not to be him, to know who you're riding with, to speak up as a passenger, to make sure you arrive alive because no mother wants to be me."
She wants to turn the 100 deadliest days for teen drivers into the 100 safest days.
Since Conner's death, Gweedo McGee helped pass two bills that encourage safe driving in Virginia. She's working on a third bill for next session.
She started the Conner Gweedo Memorial Foundation, helps educate teens and their parents on safe driving, and runs an anonymous tip line, If You See Something. Say Something, for people to report concerns of unsafe driving and more.
AAA provided the following tips for parents of teen drivers:
- Eliminate trips without purpose. Limit teens’ driving to essential trips and only with parental permission for at least the first year of driving. Teens have three times as many fatal crashes as other drivers, based on the number of miles driven. The risk is even higher, during the first year of solo driving.
- Limit passengers. Crash rates increase with each additional teen passenger in the vehicle. In fact, fatal crash rates for 16- to 19-year-olds increase five fold when two or more teen passengers are present versus when teens drive alone. Parents should establish passenger limits for their teen drivers. In Virginia only one teen passenger under the age of 21 (not including family members) is allowed during the first year of solo driving.
- Restrict night driving. A teen driver’s risk of being involved in a deadly crash doubles at night. Many parents limit driving during the highest-risk late night hours (between midnight and 5 am) but may want to consider limiting evening driving as well, as more than half of nighttime crashes occur between 9 p.m. and midnight.
- Teach your teens how to drive. Summer offers the perfect opportunity for teens to practice driving and to gain experience through parent-supervised driving practice. Parents can share their wisdom and experience accumulated over many years of driving. Even after a teen has a license that allows solo driving, parents and teens should continue to practice ‘commentary driving’ to help teens manage increasingly more complex and challenging driving conditions.
- Establish a parent-teen driving agreement. Written agreements help set and enforce clear rules about night driving, passengers, access to the car, and more.
- Be there. Make sure your teen knows that if they need help, advice, or a ride, they can count on you. Extend this offer often and let your teen know that you are always available and encourage them to call you should they need your help.
