Texas mom shares ‘pain and heartache’ after her daughter was killed by impaired driver
Carly Beatty, a 19-year-old Texas A&M student studying animal science, had a lifelong dream of becoming a veterinarian, but she was killed in 2019 by an impaired driver in College Station.
Beatty was among the 10,142 U.S. fatalities in 2019 due to impaired driving, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
A few weeks after her mom dropped her off at college for her sophomore year, she was hit by the impaired driver while she was walking home. The driver who killed her had a combination of alcohol, THC, cocaine and Xanax in his system, according to the Texas Department of Transportation.
Beatty was buried in Prosper, and her parents reside in Little Elm.
“Carly did not deserve what happened to her. She had hopes and dreams that have now ended,” said Sue Beatty, Carly’s mother. “Her future is gone because someone chose to drive impaired. Please don’t make that choice. I don’t want any other mother to go through the pain and heartache that I’ve been through. If I can use Carly’s story to impact anybody and convince them not to drive impaired, it’s worth sharing her story.”
Beatty’s mother told TxDOT she wants people to be reminded that ride-share and public transportation are available and there is no reason someone should get behind the wheel impaired.
TxDOT is launching a summer anti impaired-driving initiative that begins Friday, June 19. The initiative, “Drive Sober. No Regrets,” is beginning ahead of the Fourth of July weekend and aligns with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s heightened law enforcement period to keep roads safe this summer.
From Friday, June 19 through Monday, July 6, police officers across Texas will increase efforts to “identify and arrest impaired drivers to minimize DUI-related crashes, injuries and fatalities,” according to a TxDOT news release.
They will also have a former beverage delivery truck driving around Texas to “deliver sober driving messages.” The truck will have a variety of activities to teach participants about the danger of impaired driving.
According to TxDOT, there were 2,044 drug- or alcohol-related traffic crashes in Fort Worth alone last year because of impaired driving, which resulted in 60 fatalities and 190 serious injuries.
Crashing isn’t the only outcome of driving impaired. TxDOT says that a DWI charge can result in up to $17,000 in fines and fees, jail time, and loss of a driver’s license.
TxDOT says that “driver sober is the winning goal this summer,” and with the World Cup coming to North Texas, the “most Texan thing we can do is look out for one another, and that starts with driving like a Texan.”
“Drive Sober. No Regrets” is a part of TxDOT’s “Drive like a Texan: Kind. Courteous. Safe” initiative.
TxDOT says this initiative is “about embracing the pride, camaraderie and responsibility of being a Texan on the road. By making thoughtful choices, we can all help keep each other safe.”
You can learn more at DriveLikeATexan.com.
