Washington
Families of victims to drunk driving gather in Washington DC, calling for action from congress
Honoring lives lost to drunk driving
The National Transportation Safety Board has called on automakers and the US Department of Transportation to make this a priority as families of those who lost someone at the hands of a drunk driver gathered in Washington DC.
WASHINGTON D.C. (FOX 2) – A rally was held Tuesday night outside the US Capitol lawn in Washington D.C. Members of congress along with the families of those who lost someone at the hands of a drunk driver, gathered with Mothers Against Drunk Driving, calling for congress to act to pass laws that stop a driver who is drunk from ever starting a car.
Rana Abbas’s life forever changed almost 6 years ago. Five members of her family were driving home to Dearborn when they were struck and killed by a drunk driver on I-75 in Lexington, Kentucky.
“My family was killed on Jan 6, 2019, not even a week after the new year,” she said. “It’s been six years and it doesn’t get any easier.”
Congresswoman Debbie Dingell says at the Abbas funeral it became clear what she needed to do.
“There were five, five of them that were active in the community,” she said. “Rema was in access, her husband was a doctor. We knew everybody. And overnight, I mean everyone had a good holiday and a drunk driver wiped out this family and devastated this community. Children that went to school with the kids looked at me and said technology exists to keep this from happening. Why haven’t you stopped it?”
Both Congresswomen Dingell and Rashida Talib worked with Abbas to get a law passed in congress. It was called ‘Halt,’ which requires all new cars to come equipped with tech that detects and stops impaired drivers from starting the vehicle. It was supposed to come into effect in 2026, giving time for regulations to be put in place. The candlelight rally in DC on Tuesday was designed to speed the process up.
“Every 78 secs someone is injured or killed by a drunk driver,” Abbas said. “When we hear that we needed three years, and we might need another three more, what we hear is we need 30,000 more people to be killed, and we might need another 30,000 more people to be killed before were ready to put this technology that’s available in vehicles and that is not okay.”
The National Transportation Safety Board has called on automakers and the US Department of Transportation to make this a priority.
A man was shot to death in a Washington Park home Tuesday afternoon.
The 18-year-old was in a home in the 5700 block of South Michigan Avenue when someone opened fire about 2:15 p.m., Chicago police said.
He suffered multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. His name hasn’t been released.
No arrests were made.
A man died in a fire in Northwest D.C. early on the morning of Christmas Eve, officials said.
Debris in a fireplace started the blaze in the 1500 block of Ogden St. NW, D.C. Fire and EMS said. It was an accident, officials said.
Firefighters were called to the scene about 1 a.m. When they arrived, they saw flames on the first floor of the building.
The man was rescued and taken to a trauma center, but died, officials said. Firefighters put out the blaze, and investigators are on the scene.
He’s a small dog out there in a big world.
A 3-month-old puppy named Benji was stolen Friday, along with his family’s car, at a Wawa in Forestville, Maryland.
“He’s tiny,” said KerryAnn Wiltshire, one of Benji’s owners. “He’s very, very tiny, very loving.”
Wiltshire says she and her boyfriend were driving from New York to North Carolina Friday when they stopped at a Wawa near the Ritchie Station Shopping Center in Prince George’s County to get gas and use the restroom. She says they turned off the engine and locked the black Nissan Altima with Benji, a Peekapoo, inside.
But when they left the store a few minutes later:
“We came out and we see a guy with a mask on and gloves running towards the car. He gets in the car and drives off,” Wiltshire said. “When he drove off, we start running trying to chase after the car. I guess he had an SUV behind him, so we call police.”
The Nissan was recovered in the District Sunday. Wiltshire says none of her belongings were found in it.
“The most important thing in that vehicle was not a thing, it was my son Benji, my dog. I had my dog, gifts for the kids, clothing, my phone, a thousand dollars, my ID, bank cards” she said.
Wiltshire says it would be a miracle if Benji could be reunited with her children, who are ages 5, 7 and 9.
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