PORTLAND (AP) – One year ago, a tractor-trailer driven by a trucker with an abysmal driving record slammed into the rear of a car driven by Tina Turcotte on the northern end of the Maine Turnpike near Augusta.

The 40-year-old Scarborough woman died of her injuries three days later. The trucker, Scott Hewitt of Caribou, was driving on a suspended license; he had 63 prior driving convictions, more than 20 license suspensions and had been involved in a previous fatal accident.

The tragedy fueled public outrage and exposed a widespread but largely ignored problem of motorists who have lost their right to drive – but do so anyway.

A year after the July 29, 2005 crash, public safety officials say it has played a major role in focusing public attention on the problem of suspended drivers.

The state passed “Tina’s Law” that calls for tough penalties for habitual motor vehicle offenders and people who drive on suspended licenses. Law enforcement agencies are cracking down on suspended drivers and the Bureau of Motor Vehicles created a system to alert local police to suspended drivers in their communities.

As tragic as Turcotte’s death was, it served as a “kind of wake-up call” about the pervasive problem of people driving when they shouldn’t, said Cumberland County Sheriff Mark Dion.

“If it’s not an epidemic, I don’t know what an epidemic is,” Dion said.

Some initiatives cracking down on suspended drivers preceded Turcotte’s death. The Cumberland County Sheriff’s Department, for instance, had launched a program targeting habitual motor vehicle offenders several months before the accident.

But Turcotte’s death drew attention to the problem and reinvigorated enforcement efforts. Generous and hardworking, Turcotte had never had so much as a parking ticket, according to her mother, Pat LaNigra.

LaNigra channeled her grief over her daughter’s death into working toward tougher laws and more aggressive enforcement to bring suspended drivers to justice. The work is important to preserve her daughter’s memory, but she finds little comfort in it.

“It’s very difficult to relive those three days and just picture everything that happened,” LaNigra said. “It’s as clear as yesterday. It just brings back a lot of pain.”

LaNigra worked with state Rep. Darlene Curley of Scarborough and Sen. Bill Diamond of Windham to advocate for tougher penalties for the worst drivers.

“I think it was a terrible tragedy for this family, and everyone could relate to that,” Curley said. “Then we found out how big an issue it was … and that impacts every Maine family.”

LaNigra would like to see additional laws, and she supports proposals to seize vehicles from the worst suspended drivers.

She isn’t swayed by those who argue that impounding vehicles driven by suspended drivers could have consequences for innocent family members.

“We’re the innocent ones. We’re still suffering,” she said. “Every time I have a truck behind me I think of Tina and the situation she was in.”

Hewitt is being held at Kennebec County Jail on manslaughter and other charges in connection with Turcotte’s death. He declined a request for an interview.