A bench remembering a man killed by an impaired driver has been unveiled outside Motor Vehicle Registration in Mount Pearl.
In front of a tearful crowd, the memorial bench remembering Nicholas Coates was officially unveiled, sitting outside the entrance of the government office for everyone walking through the doors to see.
Coates, an engineer by trade, was killed by an impaired driver in 2013 around 11:00 a.m. while returning from a work site.
Patricia Hynes-Coates, Nick’s stepmother and a former president of MADD Canada, hopes the bench will have a profound effect.
She says if even one person is inspired to stop driving impaired, than Nick’s memory is not in vain.
Hynes-Coates remembers Nick’s sense of humour and love of machines.
File Photo
She says Nick loved ATVs and motorcycles and the freedom they provided. However, she also says that the crash has forever tainted those memories.
“These are things that impaired driving does. It destroys people and out memories of our loved ones.”
Torbay Memorial Bench Unveiled
Meanwhile, a second memorial bench was unveiled last week in Torbay.
The bench remembers John F. Martin, who was killed by an impaired driver in 1986.
MADD Canada joined Martin’s family for the official dedication last Thursday.
The bench has been placed at Upper Three Corner Pond Park.
