CLEVELAND, Ga. — It's been 24 years since Cleveland's first female officer was killed by a drunk driver, and now the intersection where she died will be named in her honor.
The biggest push came from late Cleveland Police Department Officer Carol Leigh Ledford's family. Her family hopes that the service and name dedication will make people stop and think before they get behind the wheel inebriated. The young officer was only 20 years old when she was hit and killed.
"She accomplished so much in her young life," her sister, Melissa Strickland, said. "She was more mature than any 19-year-old you would have ever met."
Her mother, Geraldine Ledford, said that serving the community as a police officer is something Carol wanted to do since she was a child. A park in the area was dedicated in her honor, and her mother hopes that it brings hope to the kids that play there.
"When she was in the 5th grade, she came home and said, I'm going to be a police officer," Geraldine said.
But that dream was taken away in 1999 after her making her first DUI arrest. Carol was killed by a drunk driver just a few days later. Her family remembers that she was even one of the first in the city to be trained in making these types of stops.
"She had to go to school to get certified to do DUI arrests and sobriety tests with the breathalyzer machines, and she had just came home that Saturday, and that Sunday, she was killed," Melissa said.
The dedication on Friday is a part of Carol's mom and sister's work to carry on her legacy in the 24 years since her death.
"I have been determined; they are not going to forget who she was. She deserves that," Melissa said.
That intersection lies on Appalachian Parkway just outside of the city limits. After today, Carol's family hopes people will stop when they see the sign and memorial for Carol. And that the sign will help her do what she has wanted to do since she was a little girl - save lives.
"People - they see that and maybe they will stop and not get out here and drink and drive. Because it destroys families," Geraldine said.
Memorial created for police officer who died 24 years ago
