SAN ANTONIO — At midnight Friday, enhanced patrols will take over Texas roads.
Law enforcement is ramping up their efforts to catch drunk drivers. It's part of a larger initiative to remind all Texans about the dangers of drinking before getting behind the wheel.
This initiative called "Drive Sober. No Regrets" is launching just in time for Labor Day, running from August 18 to September 4.
Last year over the holiday weekend, 20 people died in DUI-related crashes. 62 were hurt. All of these cases were 100% preventable.
Erin Crawford-Bowers, a New Braunfels mother of two, is sharing her story for the campaign to help save lives.
"I graduated from high school, graduated from college, got married, but without my dad there to walk me down the aisle. I have two beautiful children, but I did so without my mother there to hold my hand," said Crawford-Bowers.
She was too young to remember the crash that killed her parents. She was six months old at the time.
"My father, Joe Allen Crawford, was driving us home," said Crawford-Bowers. "My mother, Helen Leslie Crawford, was in the back seat, along with my cousin."
June 22, 1985 in Brazoria, TX, the family was on the way home from dinner when a drunk driver hit them head-on.
"My dad died instantly upon impact," said Crawford-Bowers.
She says her mother must have seen the car coming because she jumped to the front seat to protect her daughter.
"When she braced for that impact, it literally put a shield between me and the front of the car," said Crawford-Bowers.
Crawford-Bowers was airlifted to a nearby hospital in Galveston. Doctors weren't sure she'd make it through the night.
She did.
Her brother, who was 14 at the time, would re-live that night over and over.
"Luckily, he wasn't in the car that night, I always say that he died as well. That drunk driver killed my brother. It just took him 35 years, 11 months and 18 days to succumb to those injuries," she explained. "We lost him by a suicide in June of 2021."
When tragedy struck 38 years ago, Crawford-Bowers says help for DUI victims didn't exist. That's why she joined the fight to pass Bentley's Law.
Beginning September 1, anyone convicted of intoxication manslaughter will pay child support if they kill a parent with young children. Under the new law, drunk drivers will be required to make monthly payments until the child turns 18 or has graduated high school, whichever comes later.
"If we don't do something today to make a change in our society. This will become our kids burden to bear," said Crawford-Bowers.
Her 10-year-old son, Crawford, has a similar mission as his mother. He's raised more than $15,000 for different charity organizations helping victims of DUI crashes. He joined his mother at a press conference Wednesday to launch the "Drive Sober. No Regrets" campaign.
Down the line, Crawford-Bowers is working to enhance mental health resources for families impacted by drunk driving.
According to the Texas Department of Transportation, "Drive Sober. No Regrets" is a key component of #EndTheStreakTX, a broader social media and word-of-mouth effort that encourages drivers to make safer choices while behind the wheel to help end the streak of daily deaths. Nov. 7, 2000, was the last deathless day on Texas roadways.