Jennifer Pearce lost her younger sister, Nicole, in a drowsy driving accident six years ago. She has since devoted her life to raising awareness about the risks of getting behind the wheel on little sleep.
Nicole was a freshman at Virginia Tech when she and four friends woke up early to head home after a skiing trip in West Virginia. "We kind of recognized that we were all a bit tired," said Harry Rosenbaum, a friend who was in the car.
Everyone in the car fell asleep, including the driver, who ran off the side of the road, Pearce explained. The majority of the impact was on Nicole's side of the car.
"They were all wearing their seat belts. They were not speeding," Pearce said. "The only factor to this accident was drowsy driving."
Rosenbaum said most people don't take sleepiness as an indication that they shouldn't drive, and feels there isn't sufficient education about the dangers of drowsy driving. Studies show that young adults are the most at risk of such accidents.
"You think you can power through and get home, but we know in actuality, that's not going to cut it," Rosenbaum said. "That's not going to get you home safe."
Learning to value sleep is an important step toward preventing drowsy driving accidents, Pearce said. Because "we busy-shame people" into overworking, she explained, "we really don't talk about sleep as a necessity to life, anymore, which we should."
Watch the video above to learn more about Pearce's story.
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