PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — We are halfway through what is known as the 100 Deadliest Days, the time between Memorial Day and Labor Day when the number of teens getting hurt or killed in car crashes sharply increases.
A coalition of non-profits is now working to change that to the 100 Safest Days. For Tammy Guido, founder of the Gweedo Memorial Foundation, the mission is personal.
“Conner was just a joy to be around,” Guido said. “He wanted to make everybody smile. He wanted to make everybody laugh.”
Tammy lost her son, Conner, in October 2019. The 16-year-old got into a car with two friends leaving after the Homecoming dance at Tabb High School.
Police say speed, lack of experience and being unfamiliar with the area contributed to the crash that killed all three.
“It took me a quite a long time to recover and to figure out how to get up every day and what to focus on,” Guido said.
She now travels to schools and club meetings, educating young drivers and their parents about the risks on the roads.
Summer time she pointed out, is more dangerous than any other time of year for young drivers, as kids are often home all day and parents are at work.
“So we need to make sure that we’re locking up our keys at home,” Guido said. “We need to make sure that we’re putting the app on the phone. We want to know where our children are, who they’re with and what they’re doing.”
The website dedicated to her mission includes information about apps that will track your teens driving, as well as other resources for parents, high schools and a See Something, Say Something link for anonymous reporting of dangerous and reckless behavior.
“They see these things,” she said. “They’re talking to their friends in the hallways. They see it on the field, they see it at the games. We want them to feel comfortable speaking up to help save lives.”
If someone had spoken up before that fateful October night, she said, Conner might still be alive.
