We do it by telling the truth about what happened to our families, in courtrooms, classrooms, community halls and now on film. We do it by driving in the Lights On For Life motorcade every December with our headlights on. And we do it by making sure the people we lost are remembered by name.
RAID traces its roots to Mothers Against Drunk Driving and to Peggy Duffy, who coordinated Monroe County’s STOP-DWI program from 1998 until her retirement about 23 years later. Peggy lost her father and her youngest sister to impaired drivers; four crashes over ten years touched five members of her family.
Monroe County’s victim speaker program began in January 1992. Families who told their stories at those panels found one another there, and over time became the group known first as Rochester Against Intoxicated Driving and today as Rochester Against Impaired Driving.
Today the county program is led by Lindsay Tomidy, Sue Merritt’s daughter, who was 13 when her brother Ryan died and spoke at his funeral.
Candace Lightner founds Mothers Against Drunk Driving after her daughter Cari is killed.
New York’s STOP-DWI program begins in Monroe County, funded by fines from DWI convictions.
Monroe County’s victim impact panel program starts on January 6. Victims and families begin telling their stories to offenders.
Peggy Duffy becomes Monroe County STOP-DWI Coordinator.
Ryan Merritt (2001), Geri Navratil and Jim Finegan (2002), Lindsay Kyle (2003), and Henry Alexander Rivera and Pedro Hernandez (2007) are killed in impaired-driving crashes.
Sue Merritt begins speaking at victim impact panels, five years after Ryan’s death.
RAID takes part in Monroe County STOP-DWI’s Lights On For Life motorcade, the earliest public record of the group by name.
RAID releases a three-part documentary series telling the stories of Geri and Jim, Ryan, and Henry and Pedro.
RAID is volunteer-run. These are some of the members who speak publicly. Each has agreed to tell their story so that others might make a different choice.
Son of Geri Navratil. Peter’s mother and her companion Jim Finegan were killed in Brighton in 2002. He tells their story in RAID Documentary #1.
Mother of Ryan Merritt, who died driving drunk in 2001 at 17. Sue has spoken at victim impact panels since 2006, and tells Ryan’s story in Documentary #2.
Parents of Henry Alexander Rivera, killed with his friend Pedro Hernandez by a wrong-way driver in 2007. Henry Sr. has spoken to students across the region for nearly two decades.
Mother of Lindsay Kyle, 26, a SUNY Brockport student killed at a red light in Rochester on October 19, 2003. Sarah speaks at panels, schools and sobriety checkpoints, and Lindsay’s Life & Leisure Garden at Brockport is where RAID’s memorial markers stand.
Behind every speaker are the families, friends and volunteers who plant the garden, drive in the motorcade and keep RAID going. If you have lost someone and want to be part of this, we would like to meet you.
Monroe County STOP-DWI · 50 W. Main St., Suite 4111, Rochester, NY 14614 · 585-753-3017
RAID members speak because silence changes nothing. If you have lost someone to impaired driving and want to be heard, reach out.
Rochester-area families who lost someone to impaired driving, working so no other family has to.
In honor of all those we have lost to impaired driving, and the families who carry them forward.
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