‘Our lives were changed forever’: Manitoba students told of dangers of impaired driving
Posted October 8, 2026 4:07 pm.
It’s been 13 years since Trisha Dosaj lost her sister to an impaired driver.
Dosaj was travelling in a car with her eight-month-old daughter and her sister, who was seven-and-a-half months pregnant at the time, in April 2013.
Their car was t-boned by an impaired driver, and Dosaj’s sister didn’t survive.
“The emotional impact of that night has stayed with us and our entire family,” Dosaj shared. “And one person made that decision to drive impaired. And in an instant, our lives where forever changed.
“It’s easy to think that will never happen to me. But impaired related crashes happen all the time.
Dosaj is now the national president of the Canadian arm of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD).
MADD Canada teamed up with Manitoba Public Insurance (MPI) to deliver an important message about impaired driving to the province’s youth.
On Thursday, the organization gave students at West Kildonan Collegiate an immersive look at the devastating consequences of impaired driving, with the hopes of empowering them to make safe and sober choices.
“You in this room have the opportunity to be leaders who make choosing not to drink and drive and not to drive high the norm,” Maria Campos, a vice-president at MPI, told the students. “Speak up. Plan ahead. And look up for one another.”
According to MADD Canada, the risk of impaired driving is especially high for teens and individuals in their early 20s.
In Canada, road crashes are the leading cause of death for young people, and over half of those crashes involve alcohol, cannabis or other drugs.
“If you’ve been drinking, it’s simple: don’t drive,” Campos said.
MADD and MPI screened a film titled “Trapped” that follows the night of a young driver who decided to get behind the wheel while under the influence after a party.
“These stories matter,” said Campos. “Because young Manitoban drivers are 2.4 times more likely than any other age group to be involved in a serious collision involving impairment.”
