SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Highway Patrol troopers, along with officers from several different agencies, were out in force on New Year's Eve night, looking for impaired, drowsy and aggressive drivers.
A South Jordan family knows all too well how the decision to drive impaired can have devastating consequences.
The Wilhite sisters, Jessica and Sabrina, were hit by an impaired driver a little over a year ago.
Thankfully, they survived.
The family now works together, trying to educate folks about the dangers of impaired driving.
Jessica Wilhite was the passenger that day in late November, 2024.
“We’d never wish it on anyone, we don’t want anyone to have to go through what we did or even worse. The unfortunate reality is that it does happen," said Jessica.
It happened to Jessica and Sabrina in Northern Arizona.
They were hit by an impaired driver while heading home to Utah.
Sabrina lost part of her left arm and now has a lifetime reminder of the crash.
“Sometimes we wish we didn’t have those experiences, but it’s important for us now for those reasons to share that story<" said Sabrina.
Part of the irony in all this is that their dad, Brent Wilhite, used to work for the Utah Department of Transportation and had been a spokesperson for Zero Fatalities for nearly two decades.
“And to have my personal life collide with my professional life has just been devastating to me," said Brent. “Drunk driving crashes and fatalities are 100% preventable, they don’t have to happen.”
The whole family now works together to share their story and spread awareness about the dangers of impaired driving.
And Jessica says they applaud the efforts of those in law-enforcement, on New Year’s Eve and every night, to try and keep DUI drivers off the road.
“We are so grateful for them. Honestly, heroes in our eyes, those officers," said Jessica.
The family is actually in the process of doing a podcast about their experiences and trying to educate folks about the dangers of driving while impaired, drowsy or aggressive.
