Warren Mackey Jr.

Warren Mackey, Jr., an 18-year-old talented student-athlete from Central High School Chattanooga, Tennessee, had already caught the eye of college basketball coaches even though he was only a junior. On the evening of January 3, 1998, Warren arrived home with a friend after having played in a holiday basketball tournament. The two young men stayed up late playing video games, and Warren had only had a few hours of sleep when he met his parents at church early Sunday morning. Though he struggled to stay awake during the services, Warren accompanied his girlfriend to her church as well and then shared a meal with her family. He continued to fight sleep throughout the evening, and as he was leaving, Warren’s girlfriend asked him to call her when he arrived at home. He never made that phone call. Warren fell asleep driving his truck home on a country road, hit a tree, and died instantly.

Warren’s parents have established a scholarship in their son’s name at his high school. Through this scholarship, they annually recognize hardworking and talented students like their son, they keep his name alive, and they raise awareness about the manner in which he died. Warren Mackey, Sr., is working to raise awareness of the dangers of athletes, exhausted from their competitive endeavors, returning from games or matches late at night on the bus and then getting in a car and driving home alone. He is a strong advocate of implementing graduated licensing and establishing additional programs such as the Drowsy Driving Prevention Summit to help curb the problem and heighten awareness of the problem of drowsy driving.