Parents' tribute to late son leads to new free ride program for incoming Gonzaga students

SPOKANE, Wash. -- A new program at Gonzaga University is helping students get home safe.

Many of the incoming freshman are first generation students at Gonzaga university, coming to Spokane from 35 different states and 21 different countries.

"I think the community here is really awesome, how every residence hall has its own tight-knit group," said incoming Gonzaga freshman Jack Agler. "I think that the culture here and the vibe is really awesome as well."

Students said the tight-knit community is what drew them to Gonzaga in the first place.

"The community that was around, even though it was just literally the first day was really welcoming," said Gonzaga Freshman Anna Morris.

Most freshmen are still learning to navigate around Spokane and their campus.

According to the DMAC Foundation, teenagers account for thousands of car crashes in the United States every year. Most of the deadly crashes involving teens also happen between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m.

The DMAC founders Steve Garza and Brooke Beaty are all too familiar with the realities of these accidents. Their son Diego was a student at Gonzaga when he died in a car accident in February of last year while driving back to campus in the early morning hours.

"We wanted to carry his legacy on and give back to the community that has done so much for us in the time of his passing," Beaty said. "We were going to do something at GU, and we didn't know what at first, but we knew we wanted to help and we wanted to help get kids home safe."

The foundation is launching its Zags Ride Safe program, which gives students free rides within a three mile radius of Gonzaga's campus between the hours of 9 p.m. and 6 a.m.

Students can use the code "Zags Ride Safe" in the Lyft app during that time for a free ride home.

"We just want a way for kids to get home safe and really prevent potential tragedies from happening to other families like we've suffered. So if we can just save one kid's life and get them home safe, that makes all the difference to us," Beaty said.

Garza said the foundation also served as a way to deal with the loss of their son. The idea of giving back to Gonzaga came to them immediately after all the support they received.

The program is run entirely by donations and volunteers. The foundation hopes to expand this program to other university campuses soon.

"We don't just come in here, pop out, and say, 'here's a free ride, good luck.' We have people here to support the university and to represent us, along with the security staff, the health and wellness staff," Garza said.

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