MADD vigil remembers SC victims of drunken driving

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A vigil is scheduled to remember people hurt or killed in drunken driving crashes across South Carolina.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving South Carolina is scheduled to hold its annual candlelight vigil at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy in Columbia.

Organizers say the event gives people a chance to remember their loved ones. There will be poetry readings and a reading of victims’ names, as well as speakers, including state Sen. Joel Lourie.

In 2012, MADD says there were 358 alcohol-impaired driving deaths in South Carolina. That’s an increase of 16 percent over 2011.