On Thanksgiving Eve, Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2024, at 6 p.m., officers across WNC will turn Blackout Wednesday blue. Patrol cars will be simultaneously stationed at multiple locations across WNC counties with blue lights flashing for five minutes to remind drivers to be sober, slow down and buckle up as we enter the holiday season.

Many of the locations are the places where someone died or was seriously injured in a wreck involving alcohol, drugs or speed. Some sites are where DWI rollover wrecks occurred with child passengers in the vehicle. Some sites are designated high-risk areas.

Many of the patrol cars will be driven by officers and State Troopers who worked that tragic wreck.

In one case, an officer will come back 27 years later to remember the two victims who were killed in Macon County Oct. 16, 1997.

“I ask, in the names of all these innocent victims, and in the names of all the officers who have given their lives for your safety, that you drive safely and soberly through the holidays, and that you be a careful and responsible server, whether that be in your home or at an alcohol vending establishment,” said Ellen Pitt, who leads the WNC Regional DWI Taskforce, in a release. “Let this operation be a reminder to celebrate the holidays with joy, but please don’t turn the holidays into a nightmare for someone else.”