Last week, the N.C. Governor’s Highway Safety Program and North Carolina Mothers Against Drunk Driving held the annual Tree of Life ceremony, which honored in downtown Raleigh and memorialized those killed in car crashes in 2020. Speakers from NCDOT, NC MADD, and the state Department of Public Safety spoke at the 24th annual event, followed by a candlelight vigil.  

This year’s tree featured 1,658 white, red and blue ornaments – one for each traffic crash victim in 2020. The 412 red ornaments represented the victims of alcohol-related crashes. The two blue ornaments honored the law enforcement officers killed last year, including State Highway Patrol Trooper Nolan J. Sanders of Wayne County.