• Meridian Township Police Department vehicle

UPDATE: MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP - “I lost my son, and he was our only son, and I miss him a lot,” said Joye Cockran, mother of a young teen who died in a drunk driving accident.

“I think that people think that they're invincible and they don't think that that one decision is going to drastically alter their life. Well for my son, that one decision drastically altered his, it took his,” said Joye.

Joye lost her son Taylyr in a car accident in Meridian Township a year and a half ago. Two other teenagers also died in the crash. The driver was under the influence of alcohol.

“I talked to Taylor literally hours before he went out and had the speech with him, do not get in a car with anybody who's been drinking or under the influence of any sort of drug,” said Joye.

Scott Dawson, Sargent of the Meridian Township Police Department sometimes spends his evening shift looking for drunk drivers.

“You look for things like improper lane usage, somebody that can't stay in the lanes, somebody that’s drifting or swerving or people that are too slow," said Dawson.

He is all too familiar with deadly accidents on the roads.

"I've been here since 95 and a police officer since 89 and I can't tell you how many times I've had fatal accidents," said Dawson.

"We might arrest 5 or 10 drunks tonight in the county but that might be 5% or 10% of the people that are actually out there drinking and driving," said Dawson.

Joye hopes that people can realize the potential consequences of their actions.

“I don't think anyone intends to harm anyone or harm themselves when they choose to drink and then get behind a car. It's just that its a real possibility, it happened to us,” said Joye.


ORIGINAL STORY: MERIDIAN TOWNSHIP - Learn about the dangers of drunk driving on the next Beyond the Badge.