BEN FELICIANO
"Ben Feliciano was a 22 year old beloved son and brother, college graduate, and athlete who loved baseball and basketball, an innocent and responsible sober driver. My brother’s fate and life were sealed and stolen on Saturday, August 19, 1995, when a drunk driver slammed his vehicle into the back of Benny's car on the Gowanus Expressway in Brooklyn. The force and speed of the impact flipped Benny's car over the vehicle ahead of him and Benny’s car landed upside down on the Expressway. He was crushed inside his car. Tragically, Benny died the next day on Sunday, August 20, 1995.
Our family lost an incredible person, and we miss him terribly. I have since been working with Mothers Against Drunk Driving for over 20 years determined to educate and raise awareness about how preventable these tragedies can be.
I've been advocating with MADD for stronger laws such as the federal law lowering the legal BAC level of drunk drivers. Also, I worked with the prosecutor’s office and law enforcement with their Choices and Consequences initiative. I continue to work with local elected officials to lobby for new standards to prevent such alcohol-related crashes by requiring new vehicles to be equipped with advanced drunk and impaired prevention technology.
Unfortunately, this standardized technology is not on the roads yet. It will take years before everyone is driving a car with this technology. The battle against drunk driving is not over.
We need your help. Your choice matters. Make the right one and save lives. Drunk and impaired driving crashes and fatalities are 100% preventable.
We will do whatever it takes to make drunk and impaired driving a thing of the past. Not another sister, not another mother, father or brother should ever have to endure the pain of losing a loved one due to the careless and irresponsible decisions made by someone who chooses to drive drunk or impaired!
Not one more…let’s put an end to drunk and impaired driving.
We invite you to join us by participating in the Staten Island Walk Like MADD & FerryHawks Give Back Game on Sunday, June 2nd at SIUH Community Park. Thank you for supporting MADD's lifesaving mission, so that no other family has to go through what we have."
- Melissa Feliciano-Wylie & the Feliciano Family