It was on a Saturday evening, a time when teenagers go out for tacos and a movie, when a tragic car collision occurred, changing the lives of the Saliture family forever. Then Cypress High School sophomore, Allison Saliture, was only 16 years old when a vehicle driven by an underage drunk driver slammed into the back of the car she was riding in.
The driver struck the car at nearly 100 miles per hour while it was stopped at a light, with the crash hurling it into the air, landing 25 feet away from the point of impact. Eventually, the driver would be prosecuted the maximum sentence for involuntary manslaughter after the judge received more than 300 letters from Allison’s friends at the trial.
But at the scene of the accident, Allison was in critical condition and was immediately transported to UCI Medical Center. Although she didn’t have any visible injuries, she had sustained traumatic brain injuries. Allison’s twin sister, Jennifer, fainted upon seeing her in the hospital, and her two other sisters were visibly shaken as well. In a coma for five days and in spite of the hospital exhausting all medical measures to save her, Allison would never regain consciousness.
Ever since that fateful collision on a March evening in 1994, Allison’s family has been dealing with their grief and sadness, and have been working hard to keep her memory alive. Among her parent’s activities has been their work and involvement for more than 19 years with Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) at the state and local levels.
Allison’s mother, Haze Saliture, has tirelessly worked in fundraising and to further the mission of MADD, teaming up with law enforcement, county and state governments to make new laws supporting DUI checkpoints in Cypress and North Orange County. Meanwhile, her husband, John Saliture, has served on the MADD Orange County Advisory Board and as their state representative.
“I speak at numerous press conferences in support of tougher laws for drunk driving, the prevention of driving while impaired,” he said.
John also has supported State Assemblyman and Orange County Supervisor Todd Spritzer in crafting DUI legislation at both the state and county levels.
For more than 15 years, his wife has supported DUI checkpoints in Cypress and Garden Grove. She was awarded Citizen of the Year in Cypress twice, and awarded the Cypress College Foundation Citizen of the Year in 2013 besides earning the Orange County Volunteerism Award. To this day, both the Salitures continue to work to further the mission of MADD, to stop driving under the influence both on a local level and throughout the state in an effort to keep Allison’s memory alive.
The couple teamed up locally with the Cypress Police Department and Mitsubishi Motor Corporation to get the first video surveillance camera installed in a patrol car. The camera was placed inside a Cypress Police Department patrol car along with a plaque that read, “Dedicated in memory of Allison Saliture.” There is also a memorial plaque and tree at Cypress High School where Allison attended, and yet another plaque and tree at Morris Elementary School in Cypress honoring their daughter. The City of Cypress has also named a street, “Allison Lane,” and most recently the Salitures were present to see a tree planted in their daughter’s memory on Saturday, April 12, Arbor Day at Evergreen Park in Cypress.
Not a day goes by that the Salitures family doesn’t think of Allison or remember their gratitude and love from the local community. “We know from the outpouring of love from the community that Allison’s death had a profound affect with the citizens of Cypress,” said John Saliture. “We will continue our efforts in keeping her memory alive.”
Their daughter is most remembered by her three sisters, Kimberly, 39, twin sister Jennifer, 36, and youngest sister, Kristian, 27, for happily doing things like skiing, riding jet skis, going to the beach, shopping and having lunch with them. The aspiring interior designer is also remembered for wanting to attend college at the University of Southern California (USC).
The Saliture family home is still adorned with pictures of Allison and has angels in every room. Her parents are the proud grandparents of a girl whose middle name bears their daughter’s name. The whole family eagerly anticipates a future granddaughter who will bear the first name of their daughter and sister in final tribute, and forever-loving memory of Allison.
