NATCHEZ — John Patrick Jr. was conscientious about drunk driving. He would never do it, and he joined a local chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving before he ever had a driver’s license.

But despite his own scruples, when he was 19 years old, Patrick and his girlfriend were killed by a drunk driver, a seven-time offender who was three times over the legal limit. Patrick had just finished his final semester at Hinds Community College and had a full scholarship to the University of Mississippi. He would have graduated from Hinds at the same time as his mother, who had to accept his diploma on his behalf.

That was five years ago. His sister, Prisca Patrick of Clinton, was 17 at the time. Now, the 23-year-old public policy major has joined forces with the Mississippi Department of Public Safety and is acting as the face of the Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign in Mississippi.

“(That driver) made a conscious decision, for the up-teenth time, to pull the trigger and kill my brother and his girlfriend that night when he got behind the wheel,” Prisca said. “Around the holidays, it hurts me. I see my friends with their brothers and sisters, and I am missing that opportunity.”

Prisca stopped in Natchez last week as part of DPS’ statewide tour educating drivers about the state-wide drunk driving crackdown blitz associated with the Drive Sober campaign.

During the campaign, which is partially federally-funded, the DPS puts out additional highway patrolmen to be on the watch for drunk drivers, and the highway patrol will have additional drunk driving checkpoints, DPS Division of Public Safety Planning Division II Director Twyla Jennings said.

“We don’t want our message to be ‘Don’t go out and drink, don’t celebrate the holidays,’” Jennings said. “We want to make sure people make the right decisions and that everyone gets home safely. If you’re going to drink, get a designated driver, get a cab or make other arrangements.”

Of the 582 fatal automobile crashes in Mississippi this year, 179 have been alcohol-related.

That’s up from 159 fatal alcohol-related crashes in 2012.

The Drive Sober campaign kicked off Dec. 14, and will run through Jan. 2. While local law enforcement agencies did not receive grant funds associated with the campaign, Jennings said the Adams County Sheriff’s Office and the Natchez Police Department are reporting agencies for it.

Adams County Sheriff Chuck Mayfield said he would have deputies patrolling the county with a primary focus on catching drunk drivers over the holidays.

“If someone is out drinking and driving, they are going to jail,” he said. “It is not worth spending Christmas in jail.”