Neurosurgeon Who Lost Son in Drunk Driving Crash Believes Waymo Will Save Lives

As a full-time neurosurgeon in Toledo, Ohio, Dr. Brian Hoeflinger sees many patients with injuries related to drinking alcohol. Brian has seen everything from head injuries to broken backs, paralysis and permanent brain damage; but what’s saddest, Brian says, is that people never think this could happen to them. 

“We all think we're superhuman,” Brian explained. “We all think especially if we're drinking, that it won't happen to us, that we have a plan, and we're smart enough not to let it happen.”

In the US, about 32% of traffic fatalities involve drunk drivers, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. 

For Brian this widespread crisis is deeply personal. His oldest son, also named Brian, was tragically killed in 2013 when he got behind the wheel after drinking. He was only 18.

“On the night that our son Brian died it was a Friday night and there was a basketball game,” said Brian’s mother, Dr. Cindy Hoeflinger, a retired forensic pathologist. "That's the last time I ever saw him. After the game, he went off with his friends.”

Brian’s younger brother Kevin was 15 and a freshman at the time of his brother’s passing.

“He was at a party, and they had been drinking there,” Kevin shared. “And he got his keys, even though everyone was trying to be smart and he had a designated driver for the night, and he drove into a tree, and he died.”

Cindy said the tragedy impacted the entire family – one in which Brian was the oldest of three other siblings, who all looked up to him – in profound and indescribable ways.

“He made a horrible mistake. Once you get alcohol involved, the alcohol is doing the thinking,” Cindy said. “This is not an easy thing to do, to go out and talk about your wonderful son being a drunk driver.”

Cindy and Brian hope that others can learn from their story and urge parents to open lines of communication with their children, build trust, and discuss the importance of having a designated driver.

The Hoeflingers have grown a large following on Instagram and TikTok, where their story has resonated with tens of millions of people.

“The biggest message has always been to just listen and hear what happened to our son Brian, and know that it can happen to anybody, any family,” Brian said. “If you can hear the pain in our voice, what we've gone through in our family and see how it's so drastically changed our lives, it doesn't have to happen to you or anyone else.”

Now, Brian and Cindy are partnering with Waymo to share their story and advocate for a technology that could help reduce deaths due to impaired driving. Waymo’s autonomous driving technology is designed to safely carry out all the tasks of a human driver while staying constantly vigilant, never driving under the influence, and obeying road rules.

“Waymo and autonomous driving cars are going to be an evolution in society that will help take out the human factor when it comes to drinking and driving, and it will save lives,” Brian said. “Just say there was a Waymo car out there that could have been called and pick [Brian] up, he could still be alive.”

Waymo and autonomous driving cars are going to be an evolution in society that will help take out the human factor when it comes to drinking and driving, and it will save lives.

Brian Hoeflinger

John Chu, Global Head of HR Business Partners, People Operations, Employee Relations, & Organizational Development at Waymo, said Waymo doesn’t just provide an additional alternative to driving. He emphasized that Waymo offers a safer driver: one that is predictable, methodical and a rule-follower.

“We're not going to go 10 or 15 miles per hour over the speed limit – and that’s not a judgment call as a human – it’s because this is what the rules are,” John explained.

One day in August, Brian, Cindy, their son Kevin, daughter Christie, and two-year-old grandson Archie took rides with Waymo in San Francisco.

“Okay, Archie, we're in for our Waymo ride,” Brian said to his grandson as their ride began. “Do you know what Waymo is? It's a car that has no driver.”

Brian said he felt comfortable knowing Waymo has a 360-degree vision system, can predict what other drivers might do next, and is designed to make proactive, defensive driving decisions to minimize risks.

“It's not about me, it's about our kids and our grandkids when they get in the car,” Brian said. “That's who we want to protect.”

As the holiday season approaches, Brian said that there is nothing wrong with going to parties and having a drink, but emphasized how important it is to have a plan for getting home safely.

Brian added, “If you're in an area where they have an autonomous car like Waymo, take that home because it could save your life.”