Woman Pens Heartbreaking Open Letter One Year After Baby And Husband Killed In Drink Driving Accident

Woman Whose Baby And Husband Died In Crash Warns Of Drink Driving Dangers

A woman who lost her baby and husband in a horrific car accident has written a poignant open letter to raise awareness about the dangers of drink driving.

Destiny Mantia was in the car with her husband Corey and their 15-month-old son Parker when they were hit at speed by a drunk driver.

The 21-year-old mother survived the accident, but tragically, Parker died at the scene and Corey passed away in hospital 24 hours later.

A year after the accident, Destiny posted a heart-wrenching open letter on Facebook warning others not to get behind the wheel if they have consumed alcohol.

A year ago today was like many other days. Corey Mantia woke up and went to work. Parker and I stayed at home and played...

Posted by Destiny Mantia on Sunday, 20 September 2015

"This hurt, pain and our future could of all been prevented if someone would have stepped up and stopped this selfish woman from drinking and driving," Destiny wrote in the Facebook status.

"You can save someone's life too! Don't allow your friends and family to drink and drive. Don't share DUI (Driving While Intoxicated) checkpoints. Be an advocate. Stand up with me. Let's stop this. One is too many. Don't drink and drive."

Destiny's status has been shared more than 49,000 times since she posted it on Facebook last week and thousands have commented to show their support.

"So very sorry for your loss. I admire your courage to go on and that you are speaking out and making a difference. This alone can and will prevent this from happening to someone else," one Facebook user wrote.

Another added: "Your family may no longer be with you in person but they will live forever in your memories. As hard as this tragic story is to share, you are a brave girl and I hope everyone supports you in this important cause."

Destiny Mantia with late husband Corey and son Parker

It is important to remember that alcohol affects different people in different ways and factors such as your gender, weight, stress levels and whether or not you've eaten recently can change the impact alcohol has on the body.

In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the legal alcohol limit for drivers is:

:: 80 milligrams of alcohol for every 100 millilitres of blood in your body

:: 35 micrograms of alcohol for every 100 millilitres of breath

:: 107 milligrams of alcohol for every 100 millilitres of urine

In Scotland, the legal alcohol limit for drivers is:

:: 50 milligrams of alcohol for every 100 millilitres of blood in your body

:: 22 micrograms of alcohol for every 100 millilitres of breath

:: 67 micrograms of alcohol for every 100 millilitres of urine

"There’s no safe way to calculate how much alcohol you can drink to stay below the legal limit," the NHS website states.

"The safest option is not to drink any alcohol at all if you plan to drive.

"Even a small amount of alcohol can affect your ability to drive, and there's no safe way to tell whether you're within the legal limit."

To find out more visit NHS choices.

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