Pittsfield — In November 2006, Adams resident Lisa Cooney, 42, was killed when the driver of the car she was riding in lost control of the vehicle and eventually struck a tree. The driver, who allegedly was on drugs in the incident, pleaded guilty in court to vehicular homicide in 2008.
Sixteen years after Cooney’s death, the pain is still felt by her daughter Trista LaBonte, who was one of the attendees of the Candlelight Vigil of Remembrance and Hope on Sunday, December 4 at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church.
The event was co-organized by the State Police and The Berkshire District Attorney’s Office, which has held the event for several years.
Every year at the event, a candle is lit for every person who has died in Berkshire County due to impaired driving collisions. The names of those who died are read out loud at the event, with family members and friends of those who died coming up to the front of the church to light a candle.
LaBonte said that the yearly vigil “means the world” to both her and her family, who all take the time to remember Cooney every year. “We make sure we’re here every year to light a candle in memory of my mother,” LaBonte said. “It means a lot for these organizations to do a lot of work to put this vigil together and to acknowledge us. But the other part of this vigil is that we want to make sure that we send a message out there for people to be safe on the road. We want people to know that it’s not just you on the road, it’s also families.”
Getting the message out about the dangers of impaired driving was a part of the December 4 event, with Berkshire County District Attorney Andrea Harrington speaking about its dangers at the event. “We know that these tragedies are preventable,” Harrington said. “Today, we will be reading the names of all 55 residents who have lost their lives due to impaired driving incidents in Berkshire County. We do this in a public forum to raise awareness of the dangers of impaired driving and in hope that this reminder makes people think twice before driving intoxicated.”
In an interview with The Berkshire Edge, Harrington said that this year two names were added to the list of people who died in impaired driving incidents. “While this event is a way to commemorate the loved ones lost in these incidents, it’s also a reminder to all of us that driving is a tremendous responsibility,” Harrington said. “We want to remind people not only during the holidays but also all year long, that it’s important to be sober when you are operating a vehicle.”
At the event, members of the Miss Hall’s School choir, The Grace Notes, performed the songs “Simple Gifts” and “O! Holy Night.”
“I think it’s important for these students to be here because they are all of high school age, and some of them are about to be drivers,” school Choral Director Deborah Duff said before the event. “We want to show them the reality and the seriousness of what it means to be a driver on the road. But it is also important to have music to honor those who have died, and it always adds another element in these situations.”
