Montgomery County Police Capt. Thomas C. Didone said the past year since losing his 15-year-old son Ryan in a car crash has been difficult.
"It's devastating, is the word," he said. "It's caused a lot of conflict in my personal life. But I'm blessed to have the police family to help me keep some sense of it."
Long before his son died, Didone, a 20-year-veteran of the department and commander of the 5th District, was passionate about teaching teens and parents about driving safely.
The message remains the same.
"These things are preventable," he said.
The responsibility for safer driving lies on the shoulders of parents and the teens behind the wheel, he said.
"It has kept me motivated," he said.
On Oct. 20, 2008, Ryan Didone was a passenger traveling with four other teens from a Christian youth group meeting to a Burger King three miles away in Damascus when the crash occurred.
Police later determined that Zachary Kimble, then 17 and a senior at Damascus High School, was driving at least 55 miles per hour — and possibly faster — in a 35 mph zone when he lost control of the Volvo station wagon on Hawkins Creamery Road and it hit two trees. The other passengers were seriously injured.
Kimble did not have legal permission to drive without an experienced adult chaperone, according to conditions of his provisional driver's license. A police report on the crash states he was also uninsured, which is illegal for Maryland drivers.
Police gave Kimble five traffic citations, including citations for speeding and negligent driving. He pleaded guilty and paid $710 in fines.
As painful as the loss of his son has been, Didone has not lost focus on his overall goal.
"You have to put it into perspective," he said. "I'm just one of 5,000 other parents going through this tragedy."
About 5,000 teens die behind the wheel nationally each year, he said.
A friend of Ryan's whom he knew through motocross riding, Jimmy J. Hawkins, 19, died earlier this month when his 1989 Chevrolet Cavalier collided head-on with another vehicle in Mount Airy.
He was not wearing his seat belt, police said.
Ryan Didone was not wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash, police said.
An estimated 90 to 100 people a year who die in Maryland crashes could have been saved if they had worn their seat belts, according to the State Highway Administration.
Didone has long supported several programs aimed at keeping new teen drivers safe on the road.
He has appeared for several years with Leon Harris, anchor for ABC 7 News, during Drive 2 Survive events in Montgomery County.
Didone spoke at a press conference in April in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., supporting the Safe Teen and Novice Driver Uniform Protection Act of 2009, or STANDUP Act, which would establish minimum federal requirements for state graduated drivers' license laws and encourage all states to adopt graduated drivers' license laws that meet those minimum requirements within three years
Didone has also spoken about his story at Click It or Ticket events and an Every 15 Minutes program at Col. Zadok Magruder High School in May that staged a graphic mock crash to reinforce to teens that their decisions can have severe consequences.
Although this is National Teen Driver Safety Week, Didone said he has not been asked to speak at any events related to the effort.
On Oct. 1, two new Maryland laws took effect aimed at keeping drivers, especially teens, safer behind the wheel.
Teens must now be 16 years and six months to apply for a driver's license and the learner's permit period is extended from six to nine months.
It is also illegal in Maryland, as well as 18 other states, to text on a cell phone while driving.
For the time being, Didone said he intends to keep telling parents and teens to discuss safe driving practices.
"I'm convinced more than ever that there is more work than ever to do," he said.
