Victims of DUI crashes to be memorialized in Kansas

 

April 15, 2018



ELLSWORTH, Kan. (AP) — Under a new Kansas Department of Transportation program, "Lost to DUI" memorial signs will be placed along state and federal highways for victims of drunken driving accidents.

The first memorial sign was recently unveiled by parents of 20-year-old Kylie Jobe and 22-year-old Kyle Thornburg, who were killed in a 2011 accident, The Salina Journal reported.

Barby Jobe said her daughter and Thornburg were on their way back from a skiing trip when they were struck by an impaired driver who also was killed in the crash.

"You can't say enough about not drinking and driving," Barby said. "The message never changes, but the opportunity to tell that message any time you can is really important."

Former Republican Rep. Mark Hutton sponsored the Kyle Thornburg and Kylie Jobe Believe Act in 2016, which authorized the DUI memorial signage program. He said the legislation aimed to humanize the problem with drunk driving.

"We wanted people to see those signs," Hutton said.

Hutton said the signs represent the human cost of drunken driving.

The memorial signs with finger print designs will be placed near the victims' crash site and include the names and ages of people who were killed. Barby Jobe said the fingerprint design represents a person's individuality.

"Every victim is a unique person that is lost," Barby Jobe said. "It kind of also represents the life cycle — the circle, the spiral reminds you of that, too."

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Information from: The Salina (Kan.) Journal, http://www.salina.com

 

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