Nick Coates fundraiser donates $22K to MADD

Mothers Against Drunk Driving was presented with a cheque for nearly $22,000 from friends of a young man who died after an alleged impaired-driving incident in St. John's Aug. 16.

Friends of Nick Coates, 27,organized the first annual Nick Coates Memorial Motor Show at the Jack Byrne Arena in Torbay to raise funds to present to the organization.

Coates collided with a truck while driving his motorcycle on Kenmount Road almost two weeks ago. He later died in hospital.

Corey Prosser, a friend of Coates, said the amount of support they've received from the general public since the accident has been astounding.

"It's really overwhelming. We've had so many people talk to us and come up to us and say, 'This is the greatest thing we have ever seen,'" Prosser said.

"It's not every day that you see, in six days, they raise over $20,000I am just speechless, really I can't think of any words to talk about it."

Wayne Power,president ofthe MADD Avalon chapter, said the fundraiser will serve as a reminder for drivers heading out to celebrate the upcoming long weekend.

"Any time we have an incident like this, it brings to the forefront that we still have a lot of work to do in our communities to stop the horrible crime of impaired driving and it encourages us to keep moving forward with our programs and services," Power said.

"If you're going out in the coming days, especially with the long weekend coming up, it's important to plan ahead," he added.

"Make plans to have a safe ride home if you're going to be celebrating the weekend, and to the members of the public, you can call 911 or local police forces if, indeed, you do suspect impaired drivers, and that will go a long ways to help keep our communities safe."

The driver of the pickup truck has been charged with impaired driving and is scheduled to make his first court appearance on Sept. 6.