Photos courtesy of City of Dublin
Dublin resident and WBNS-10TV sports anchor Dom Tiberi wakes up every morning with one mission on his mind – to end distracted driving.
“Unfortunately, we have an epidemic in Ohio and the United States. We are losing our youngest and our brightest,” Tiberi says.
Among those lost is Tiberi’s 21-year-old daughter, Maria, who died in a distracted driving crash on September 17, 2013. Investigators determined she was not using her cell phone, but she was distracted by something. Her vehicle showed no signs of braking before crashing into the back of a semi that was stopped in traffic.
The Tiberis will likely never know what grabbed their little girl’s attention that night, taking her eyes off the road, but Dom says everywhere you look you see people behind the wheel doing things besides just driving.
“It used to be a car was a way to get from point A to point B,” says Tiberi. “Now it’s a place where we conduct business, we eat breakfast, lunch and dinner, we do our makeup, we comb our hair, we talk on the phone, we do snapchats, we do all this stuff except drive the car.”
Now, he channels his unrelenting grief into unyielding action. He and his wife, Terri, started the Maria Tiberi Foundation, a non-profit organization that encourages defensive driving and educates about the dangers of distracted driving.
“And the message is drive the car and get from point A to point B safely. Drive the car like everyone around you isn’t paying attention, because they’re not,” Tiberi says.
The Foundation has funded 44 distracted driving simulators, donating most of them to law enforcement agencies around the state, including two to the Dublin Police Department. The simulators provide an interactive, life-like experience that demonstrates how difficult it is to drive safely while texting and dealing with other distractions.
“Through this technology, it’s pretty amazing, kids can see what happens when you drive distracted,” Tiberi explains. “And they’re getting this experience in a safe environment.”
The next step – simulator schools. The Foundation is fundraising to open schools that will feature simulators in a classroom setting. Tiberi says he hopes to start with two schools, one in Dublin and one near the OSU campus, and then potentially expand.
“Technology got us in this problem. But I think technology can fix it,” he says.
Dublin’s STEM Star
At first glance, a local sports celebrity might not seem like the most obvious standout in the world of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. But Dublin Mayor Greg Peterson says when the City had the opportunity to nominate a STEM Star, there was only one name on the list and it was Dom Tiberi.
“This was really a great opportunity for us to recognize Dom and what he has done in educating people about the consequences of distracted driving,” Peterson says.
The City of Dublin nominated Tiberi as part of The Center of Science and Industry (COSI) STEM Star Award program, created in honor of the upcoming 2019 COSI Science Festival.
“The courage and commitment he has shown over the last few years has been awe-inspiring,” says Peterson. “We couldn’t be prouder of him and that he calls Dublin home.”
COSI Vice President Stephen White says Tiberi is a great example of the type of person they are recognizing with the STEM Star program.
“STEM stars are regular folks who are going out of their way to use science, technology, engineering and math to make a difference in everyone’s life,” White says. “COSI is honored to highlight Dom’s critical work that uses technology to save lives.”
As part of his STEM Star status, Tiberi will serve as one of the grand marshals for the inaugural COSI Science Festival, which will be held at COSI May 1 – 4, 2019. He will join 12 other STEM Stars from around central Ohio who will represent their communities.
It is an honor he didn’t expect for a cause he didn’t choose, but Tiberi says the recognition means a lot to him.
“COSI’s always been a special place to my family. It was one of Maria’s favorite places to go,” Tiberi says.
Now, with Maria gone, Tiberi does what he can to keep her memory alive and to prevent other families from experiencing the pain of losing a loved one to distracted driving.
“There’s nothing we can do to bring Maria back,” he says. “Believe me I’ve tried, and I’ve thought a million times about what I can do to fix this, but there are no second chances. There are no do-overs in death, and we just don’t want anyone else to have to go through this.”
Learn more about the Maria Tiberi Foundation at mariatiberifoundation.org.
Lindsay Weisenauer is a public affairs officer for the City of Dublin.
