SAN DIEGO — A San Diego woman whose father was killed by a drunk driver urges the public to think twice before getting behind the wheel impaired.
Monica Zech's father, a Navy veteran, was killed in June of 1992 while walking in La Mesa. He was at a crosswalk; a car stopped to let him go. However, another car went around that vehicle and hit him.
"He struck my father; my dad was in front of his car. He flew through the air twenty feet, and his head came crashing down into the center median, killing him on the spot," said Zech.
"It was devastating to lose him. I can still remember the screams when my mom found out. And my screams. It echoes for all these years," she added.
The driver was arrested and charged. It was his fourth DUI, according to Zech.
Thirteen years after her father died, Zech's daughter was hit by a drunk driver but, fortunately, wasn't seriously hurt.
"She saw headlights coming at her," said Zech. "She had just left my home. She veered out of the way. The girl still hit her and took off."
The driver in that incident was caught, too, according to Zech. She wasn't supposed to be driving in the first place.
"We should all be designated drivers for our family and friends," said Zech.
Even before his death, Zech, a former traffic reporter, had been giving presentations about the importance of safe driving.
"Never in my wildest dreams did I think my father would become part of my talks," she said.
She urges people to be alert and look for impaired drivers while driving.
According to the California Highway Patrol, during the last five Super Bowl Sundays, 1,363 DUI crashes resulted in 43 fatalities and 756 serious injuries in California.
AAA reminds drivers that alcohol is not the only impairing substance and that legal recreational marijuana consumption and driving could also lead to a DUI. A first-time DUI conviction in California could cost a driver $22,578 in court, arrest and DMV fines, fees and penalties, alcohol education classes, attorney’s fees, and additional insurance costs.
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