MADD Canada’s Roadside Memorial Sign in Waterloo Honours Leanne Holland Brown Killed in Impaired Driving Crash

WATERLOO, Ontario, Sept. 11, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, MADD Canada will unveil a new roadside memorial sign in memory of Leanne Holland Brown, who was tragically killed in an impaired driving crash in Waterloo. The memorial sign has been installed in Waterloo, just past the sign for MacGregor Public School.

On April 24, 2019, Leanne was out for a walk on her break with a friend when an impaired driver’s car, which had stopped near MacGregor Public School where Leanne and her friend were walking, quickly accelerated. Leanne and her friend leapt out of the way, but Leanne was struck. She was pronounced dead in hospital later that day.

“Every roadside memorial tells a story of a life that should still be unfolding,” said Tanya Hansen Pratt, National President of MADD Canada. “For Leanne, it means two sons who will never have the chance to share the future they should have had with their mother. Her life was taken far too soon, and her family will carry that loss forever. We honour Leanne by turning the pain of her loss into a determination to stop impaired driving.”

“Leanne was taken from us because someone chose to drive impaired,” said Kenneth Brown, Leanne’s husband. “She was my wife, but more importantly, she was a mother to two boys who now have to grow up without her. They will have milestones she will never see, moments she will never share and memories they will have to make without their mom. Nothing can give us Leanne back. But if sharing her story can stop even one person from making the choice that took her from us, then we have to speak up. No family should ever have to live with this kind of loss.”

Family, friends and special guests will be attending the unveiling event today, including Leanne’s husband, Kenneth Brown; Dawn Regan, MADD Canada Chief Operating Officer; Representative of the Honourable Bardish Chagger, MP for Waterloo; Mayor Dorothy McCabe, City of Waterloo; Nigel Gordijk, Constituency Assistant, representing MPP Catherine Fife, Waterloo; Inspector Stephen Thomas, Detachment Commander of the Mississauga OPP Detachment; Chief Mark Crowell, Police Chief, Waterloo Regional Police Service; and Acting Fire Chief Sandy van Solm, Waterloo Fire Rescue.

Roadside memorial signs are a powerful way to honour victims and to remind motorists about the tragic and lasting consequences of impaired driving. MADD Canada thanks Leanne’s husband, Kenneth Brown, for his courage, and the city of Waterloo for its support in establishing the roadside memorial sign.

For more information on how MADD Canada supports victims and survivors of impaired driving, click here.

For more information, contact:
Arielle Nkongmeneck, MADD Canada Communications Manager, 1-800-665-6233 ext. 240 or ankongmeneck@madd.ca