NORTH HIGHLANDS, Calif. — A Sacramento family is pleading with the public to stay sober when getting behind the wheel.
“Drunk driving is a choice that breaks families apart,” said Amalia Leri, daughter of Allan Leri who was hit by a drunk driver Nov. 30, according to the California Highway Patrol.
CHP says he was hit by the DUI driver who ran a red light at the intersection of Orange Grove Avenue and Roseville Road in north Sacramento.
“He was driving a safe car, he had airbags, he had a seatbelt. And this person had him so hard. Our son was broken from head to toe and was instantly brain dead,” said Theresa Leri, Allan’s mother.
She says her son was a brilliant artist and well-known musician about to go back to school to get his credentials to teach art. He is survived by his large family.
“He has two wonderful children that don't have a father, we don't have a son, his sister doesn't have a brother, his cousins have lost a cousin,” said Theresa. “It's devastating. This has to stop. This society has to do better.”
Allan’s friends and family came together Saturday evening at the intersection to honor his life and speak out against the horrors of driving under the influence. They say they’re now part of the larger push to lessen the chances of someone under the influence getting behind the wheel, stricter laws and harsher punishments.
“This should be as severe as any other murder,” said Theresa. “We will never get him back.”
CHP recently hosted its latest maximum enforcement period over Christmas week which resulted in nearly 1,000 arrests and 20 deaths.
It and Allan’s death are causing Theresa and her family to plead with the public to “stop drinking and using drugs and getting behind the wheel of a car. Stop it. You have choices. You have choices. Don't do it. Just don't do it.”
The family says the driver accused of hitting and killing Allan while under the influence has since been arrested.
