Captain Tom Didone of Montgomery County Police Remembers Son Killed in Car Crash While Unbelted and Displays Vehicle Involved; Suburban Hospital and Law Enforcement Partners Promote Lifesaving Benefits of Safety Belt Use           
          
WHO:           
          
Elizabeth A. Baker, Ph.D - National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Region 3 Administrator Captain Tom Didone – Father of teen fatal crash victim, Montgomery County Police (The Real Life Consequences of a Crash) Chief J. Thomas Manger - Montgomery County Police Chief Dr. Dany Westerband - Director of Suburban Hospital's Level II Trauma Center Vernon F. Betkey, Jr. - Maryland State Highway Administration’s Safety Office Chief and Chairman of the Governor’s Highway Safety Association          
          
WHAT:           
          
Launch of Maryland’s participation in the Click It or Ticket campaign, a national effort to enforce seat belt use. This year’s campaign focuses on nighttime enforcement, when the odds of being killed in a motor vehicle crash are three times greater than daylight. Maryland efforts also stress seat belt use to pickup truck drivers and younger drivers, who generally display lower seat belt compliance in surveys.          
• Captain Tom Didone will relay the story of the loss of his 15 year old son, Ryan, who died last year as a result of injuries sustained after being unbelted in a motor vehicle crash. The vehicle that was involved in the fatal crash will be displayed.          
          
WHY:           
• More than half of Maryland drivers killed in crashes at night (between 8 p.m. – 6 a.m.) were not wearing seat belts.           
• More than 65 percent of those drivers killed in traffic crashes during nighttime hours were between the ages of 19 and 34 years old.           
• More than 500 people would be alive today if they had simply buckled up, when considering fatal crashes involving unbelted drivers and passengers over the last five years. “Buckle-up” is the first message of the Choose Safety for Life campaign’s five keys to saving lives on the road represented in the acronym B-SAFE.          
          
WHEN:           
Thursday, May 14 at 11 a.m.          
          
WHERE:           
Suburban Hospital Healthcare System – main entrance 8600 Old Georgetown Road Bethesda, MD 20814          
          
DIRECTIONS:           
From Capital Beltway, take Exit 36 (Old Georgetown Road South) toward Bethesda. After approximately one mile, make a right onto Lincoln Street and an immediate left into the hospital parking lot.          
          
Parking for the media will be provided in front of the hospital.           
          
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