Tree In Woodland Hills Mall Serves As Reminder Of Victims Killed By Drunk Drivers

This time of year is the worst for drunk driving and law enforcement is trying to make sure people understand just how dangerous it can be to get behind the wheel if you’ve been drinking.

The Tulsa County Tree of Life Campaign set up a Christmas tree in Woodland Hills Mall with 86 gifts under it, one gift for each person killed by a drunk driver in Tulsa County.

Heaven Kupiec lost her mother in 2018 after she was hit by a drunk driver while she was changing a flat tire.

For Kupiec’s family, that pain has never gone away.

"She was an avid community member in Tulsa,” said Kupiec. “She had a lot of friends, and a lot of family that loved her. And if she was here today, she would be here to bring awareness to other things as well and to this."

Erik Smoot with the Oklahoma ABLE Commission said the number of people who lost family members to drunk driving is increasing. He wants people to know they’re putting themselves and others in danger by getting behind the wheel drunk.

"So if I come out and I say, 'listen, if you drink and drive, you're going to go to jail,' and you look at me and say, 'I do it all the time and I don't get caught,' that perception of harm is very, very low,” said Smoot. “And so what we want people to know is, you may not get a DUI the first time, you may kill someone the first time."

Smoot encourages people to have a plan if you want to go out and drink alcohol, like having a designated driver or using a ride-share service.

"A fatality is something that officers see, but when you have to knock on somebody's door, that's a person,” said Smoot. “That's a person that never comes home again, that's a family member, these are presents under this tree that never get opened."

These fatalities leave a hole in a family that can never be filled.

"She was the glue that held our family together, so it's hard to know that,” said Kupiec. "We hold on to that we will see her again one day."

Law enforcement said they will continue to put up the tree of remembrance until no one dies from drunk driving in Tulsa County.