RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) – The Raleigh Police Department Traffic Flex Team was awarded the Mothers Against Drunk Driving Agency of the Year Award for 2021 at a banquet in Cary on Friday.
According to MADD’s website, “The mission of Mothers Against Drunk Driving is to end drunk driving, help fight drugged driving, support the victims of these violent crimes and prevent underage drinking.”
Raleigh’s Lieutenant P. Manukas and Sergeant C. Bradford, along with officers K. Van Althuis, K. Epps, R. Talley, and B. Abbott accepted the award Friday.
Chief Estella Patterson, Deputy Chief Scott Oosterhoudt, Major Rico Boyce and Major Derek Dike were also in attendance, along with MADD President Alex Otte, a Raleigh Police Department Facebook post showed.
MADD began in 1980 by the mother of a 13-year-old who was fatally struck by a drunk driver and left at the scene of the crash.
Otte was appointed President on Jan. 1, 2021, at 24 years old, the youngest to ever hold the position for the nonprofit. She lost her leg after being struck by a boat when an impaired boater hit her head-on in a 17-foot boat going 60 miles per hour.