JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Duval County leads the state in deadly crashes involving drugged drivers, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Fifteen years ago, Amber Rollins was hit from behind at a stoplight at Blanding Boulevard and County Road 218 by a man who was under the influence of drugs.
“He got out of his vehicle, walked over to my window and looked around and after about 15 seconds he said, ‘I think I hit you.’ Kind of in that moment, I knew something was up with him,” she said.
Seven years later, Rollins said things started to take a turn.
“When I woke up, I had the worst migraine I ever had in my life,” she said.
Not just a migraine.
Rollins said excruciating pain throughout her body led to numerous surgeries over the years, which also changed how she navigated her daily life.
At one point, she was confined to a wheelchair for several months.
“I went from being supermom, doing everything for my kids, being at every event for school or sports, to now my kids are taking care of me and life completely changed,” she said.
Although Rollins survived her crash, others were not as fortunate.
The NHTSA finds that Duval County ranks at the top of the list for deadly crashes in the state of Florida, primarily those related to drugs. It’s the second deadliest for fentanyl-related crashes.
Judy Cotton with Mothers Against Drunk Driving said the organization works with families daily who have been the victims of crashes involving drugs.
“Florida is a state where it’s driving under the influence of fill-in-the-blank,” Cotton said. “We are always working those crashes and a lot of crashes involve what they call polydrug usage, which means more than one drug -- and alcohol is a drug. A lot of times you’ll find that there’s not only alcohol involved in a crash, but drugs as well in someone’s system.”
Rollins is now working again and does the best she can every day to be there for her family. She speaks on different impact panels with MADD in Duval and surrounding counties, hoping to reach at least one person and save a life.
“It changes lives. You’re not invincible. It only takes one wrong thing to happen and your entire world has changed,” Rollins said. “Some of the best people that I’ve ever met in my life have killed someone in a drugged or drunk driving crash. You have to be [a forgiving person]. We have to make this place that we’re living in better.”
MADD wants to stress to people to be mindful of taking prescription drugs before getting behind the wheel because they might not realize how much their medication will affect their ability to drive.