WILLIAMSBURG, Va. — The initiative from Virginia State Police is taking place over April 3 and 4 and has troopers patrolling almost 300 miles of Interstate 64 and focusing on distracted driving. The initiative aims to get drivers "back to the basics of traffic safety" after more than 100 people died in car crashes this year in the state.
Tammy Guido McGee can never forget the night her son died in October 2019. Her son Conner Guido was 16 and one of three Tabb High School students killed in a car crash after leaving homecoming.
"This teenager pulled out of the parking lot hit 75 miles an hour in the 35 in less than a mile lost control of the car ran off the road hit a tree flipped the car and killed all three of them instantly," Guido-McGee said.
Virginia State Police said Conner's classmate, who was driving, was unlicensed and their lack of experience and speed played a role in the crash. Since that tragic moment, Guido-McGee, often known as "Connor's Mom" has been a fierce advocate for teen safety on the roads.
She's launched a foundation, the Conner Gweedo Memorial Foundation, and an anonymous tip hotline for reporting instances of unsafe driving, illegal activities and bullying.
"They say it takes a village right so we are the village and we are just trying to raise awareness and make sure that this doesn't happen to anyone else," Guido-McGee said.
Tammy has pushed for safer driving laws. So far, Virginia state lawmakers have passed two laws based on her advocacy.
Through speeches across the country and events like the "Keepers Cup." Tammy is using the loss of her son's life and a space at the Williamsburg Indoor Sports Complex to try and save someone else.
But she's not alone, Virginia State Police's Operation DISS-rupt is cracking down on distracted and reckless driving by focusing on the four key causes of fatal and serious injury crashes.
"Do not drive impaired, whether it's alcohol and or drugs, make sure you focus on the road and drive the speed limit, and wear your seat belts." Sergeant Michelle Anaya with Virginia State Police said
The goal of Operation DISS-rupt is to reduce the number of fatal crashes during April 3rd and 4th and to reduce the total number of crashes on our interstates for the calendar year by 10%.
"We just want people to focus on just basic driving behaviors," Sergeant Michelle Anaya with Virginia State Police said.
In the coming months, Operation DISS-rupt will focus on Interstate 95, Interstate 81, and Interstate 66.