SGI launches 'hard-hitting and heartbreaking' campaign against impaired driving
Campaign includes real-life stories and testimonials of Sask. people affected by impaired driving
Craig Stevenson says he will always remember the moment he found out his 17-year-old son was killed by an impaired driver.
"You really can't put words to what you feel," he told CBC Radio's Saskatoon Morning.
Now Saskatchewan Government Insurance (SGI) is trying to prevent other families from experiencing something similar.
SGI says a new advertising campaign, launched Monday, is "hard-hitting and heartbreaking" and includes testimonials from first responders and medical professionals in Saskatchewan who have witnessed the aftermath of impaired driving.
It will also include a 60-second dramatization of the moment a family is "torn apart by impaired driving."
Craig and Bonny Stevenson's son Quinn was killed by an impaired driver in 2013 at an intersection in Saskatoon.
Craig says they got the news after hearing a loud knock on the door by a police officer early in the morning.
"The officer there was asking Bonny to come downstairs and I knew right away something wasn't good," he said.
After the officer verified who they were, Craig says he told them that their son had died in a serious collision.
There's a lot of despair. You don't know what to think," he said.
Craig said he hopes SGI's new campaign will save other families from the experience.
"We just hope people understand the pain it causes."
Craig said SGI did an excellent job keying in on what families go through.
"I think this will just further make Saskatchewan a safer place," he said.
Craig and Bonny were in Regina for the campaign launch Monday along with first responders, medical staff and dignitaries who have been affected by impaired driving.
"We know from the last campaigns that we've had that they're impactful, that it just brings that awareness to people," said Joe Hargrave, Minister responsible for SGI.
"We want them to keep thinking this affects real people, real people's lives, your life, your families lives," he said.
"Not only that, but also these first responders, their lives."
The province-wide campaign runs until the end of October and includes television, radio, theatre and online advertisements.
- With files from CBC Radio's Saskatoon Morning