CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Ahead of the new year Mallory Stokes is doing her best to prevent drunk driving. Even if it’s only for one night.

February 7, 2020 is a day she will never forget. 

“The last thing I remember from that night is walking out of Academy and about seven minutes later, we were hit head on by a drunk driver,” Stokes said.

Her twin sister Mia was killed in the crash. 

“At that point all I could do was just scream and cry,” Stokes said. “I didn’t want to believe the words that I had just heard.”

Since then, Stokes has made it her mission to raise awareness about the dangers of drunk driving through the Mia Stokes Foundation. 

In 2023, there were more than 12,000 crashes involving alcohol in North Carolina. The North Carolina Department of Transportation’s latest report shows 377 of those resulted in death. 

This New Year’s Eve, the foundation is giving away 1,000 free Uber gift cards. Stokes said it’s an effort to keep people away from the wheel if they’re intoxicated while ringing in the new year. 

“Alcohol is the weapon that killed our sister. And so we want to do everything we can to try to prevent that from happening," she said. “We just want everyone to get home as safe as they can.”

Directions for how to get one of those vouchers are posted on the Mia Stokes Foundation social media accounts. 

Stokes said it’s as simple as sending an email to the address posted and then receiving a $25 gift card. There are 1,000 available, so it’s first come, first serve.

Meanwhile, NCDOT’s Booze It & Lose it campaign runs now through January 5. Since the campaign started in 1994, drunk driving has killed 9,000 people in North Carolina, according to state data.