FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Advocates Launch National Campaign Demanding Accurate Classification of Drug- and Impairment-Related Deaths

[Alexandria, VA] [January 26, 2026] — Victims’ rights leaders Candace Lightner, founder of We Save Lives and Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), and Matt Capelouto, founder of Stop Drug Homicide, today announced the national launch of the Not An Accident Campaign, a bold initiative challenging the widespread misclassification of deaths caused by criminal, reckless, and deadly behavior. As a result, death certificates around the country have mischaracterized millions of loved ones’ deaths as accidental on the only permanent record of their passing. Minimizing horrible crimes that brought sorrow to countless family members must be prevented going forward.

The campaign seeks to end the routine practice of labeling deaths from drug poisonings and impaired-driving crashes as ‘accidents’—a term that families, advocates, and legal experts increasingly argue is both factually wrong and deeply harmful.

As part of the campaign, Lightner and Capelouto will each pursue amendments to the death certificates of their own children, insisting these tragedies were not accidents but the foreseeable consequence of preventable, criminal acts.

“Deaths caused by drunk driving or the distribution of lethal drugs are not accidents,” said Lightner. “They stem from reckless, dangerous, and criminal behavior. How we classify these deaths matters—to families, to the justice system, and to public policy. I have opposed the term ‘accident’ in impaired-driving crashes for decades. My daughter’s death was not an accident; it was a homicide. And that is what her death certificate should reflect.”

Capelouto emphasized the national movement behind the effort, united in correcting how these deaths are categorized and how that impacts victims’ families across the country.

“When someone chooses to drive impaired or knowingly supplies a lethal substance, that choice carries deadly consequences,” said Capelouto. “Calling these deaths ‘accidents’ minimizes accountability. Our goal is to drive change for the hundreds of thousands of families whose tragedies have been mislabeled for far too long. With Alexandra’s Law, we made it clear that drug dealers must understand the lethal nature of their actions and that future deaths can lead to homicide or murder charges. These deaths are not accidents—they are homicides.”

The Not An Accident Campaign will advocate for reforms including:
– Updating death classification standards from ‘accident’ to ‘homicide’ in cases where criminal convictions establish responsibility
– Improving accuracy of national death data
– Advancing policies that recognize the criminal nature of these fatalities

Additional campaign initiatives and policy proposals will be announced throughout 2026.

For more information, visit NotAnAccident.info.

Media contact: Candace Lightner, President, We Save Lives.org – info@wesavelives.org