This weekend will mark 21 years that not a day has gone by without a death on a Texas road.
This year, that number topped 3,200. And even as the pandemic reduced the number of cars on the road, the problem grew with an average of 11 people dying each day.
They’re people who were someone’s wife, mother, friend, child or husband, like 35-year-old Garry McGee.
"She found someone she thought she was going to spend the rest of her life with and she woke up today to a completely different reality,” said McGee’s sister-in-law Heather Southerland about his widow.
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McGee, a tow truck driver, was killed by an accused drunk driver back in August.
"These were very wonderful ladies, and they were dedicated and loving and they're going to be missed,” said United Caterers co-owner Randy Elledge.
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Khanna’s two friends were taken to the ICU.
"It's very hard. Very, very frustrating to even imagine,” said Khanna’s cousin Shruti Khanna.
TxDOT insists it doesn't have to be this way, launching a social media campaign this week with #endthestreaktx.
“We wanted something that was easy to understand but also gave them the background to really understand the importance of fixing this,” said Commissioner Laura Ryan.
The department says many of the crashes are preventable, caused by things like speeding, drunk or distracted driving.
Administrators hope the hashtag will encourage drivers to take responsibility on the road by spreading stories of loved ones lost in a crash and terrifying moments like when Royse City police officer Michael Bailey's body-cam captured video of an s-u-v losing control on I-30 and crashing into him.
Thankfully he survived. But each year, thousands of Texans aren’t so lucky.
It’s a trend TxDOT believes everyone plays a role in bringing to an end.
