CLEVELAND — Sgt. Ray Santiago has been an Ohio State Highway Patrol trooper for 11 years. He said it’s a career he’s always wanted to pursue. 

“I always regretted not serving in the military right out of high school,” he said. “So, when the opportunity presented itself through their recruiter, you know, I kind of jumped at the opportunity.” 

He said one of the biggest issues he and his fellow troopers tackle is distracted driving, which can be anything from reaching for a bottle of water, glancing down at the radio or using your phone behind the wheel. 

The Ohio State Highway Patrol dashboard shows so far, distracted driving is on the decline this year, down 11% from 2021. He said this is a number that can change very quickly as the year progresses. 

“So just this year, we have nine fatal, fatal crashes associated with distracted driving throughout the state and 62 serious injury crashes,” he said. “So those are all — they're not just numbers. Those are lives that are involved in those instances. Those are, you know, families that are forever changed.” 

He said distracted driving happens more often than you might think. He showed Spectrum News 1 an example and explained what was happening. 

“So, that gentleman there, as we saw the trooper got next to him because he observed him swerving in and out of his lane,” he said. “He gets up to the car, tells them what he saw and saw him on this phone, and he asked him about it and he admitted, 'yeah, I was on my phone. You got me.' And now, unfortunately, he's getting a citation for distracted driving as well as the mark lanes violation.” 

April is National Distracted Driving Awareness Month, and Santiago said it’s important for people to make safe choices. 

“It's trying to make things relevant through education rather than through tragedy, which is always going to be the preferred method.” 

For more information on distracted driving, click here.