The tragic consequences of drinking and driving were underscored in Sarnia Wednesday morning.
Roberta MacIntosh, who would have turned 69 years old Wednesday, will never meet her first grandchild.
Roberta's husband Ralph MacIntosh was joined by their daughter Kim and 6-day-old Paige for the placing of purple ribbons at Mitton and George St., the area where Roberta was killed by a drunk driver in January 2007.
Kim MacIntosh says it's been an emotional week.
"I had some tears on Friday when I knew she was coming because my mom's missing out on being a grandmother and my daughter's now missing out on knowing her grandma, which is hard for me," Kim says. "Me and my boyfriend agreed that she's going to know her by us talking about her and telling her how we named her after my mom. Her middle name is Roberta. So, she's going to know her in spirit, it just sucks that she will never get to know what an amazing woman my mom was."
Ralph says the past ten years have been really difficult.
"They need to change the laws," says Ralph. "When you get behind the wheel of a car after drinking, you automatically turn that car into a weapon. As far as I'm concerned, it's the same as a gun or knife. The law shouldn't be impaired causing death -- it should be murder. That's the only thing that's going to change all of this."
Ralph, who was injured that day, says he's not much help to his children.
"It's been really a bad deal all the way around. We were only 10 ft from our car. I came down to pick her up," he says. "She was closing the restaurant and the guy came up on the sidewalk and ran her right into the doctor's brick wall. Dr. Davies tried to save her, but she was already gone."
Friends and family of loved ones killed in a drunk driving collision 20 years ago at Michigan Ave. and Modeland Rd., also gathered and placed purple ribbons at that intersection Wednesday.
Blair Abbey was 9 years old when her father, Gary Abbey, and his co-worker Michael Parkes were killed in a crash in November 1997. She travelled from Kelowna, British Columbia, to attend the ceremony.
"To be that young and be at that stage in your life where you're playing with dolls and toys and to all of a sudden get that news in the morning -- was quite devastating ," says Blair. "I instantly went into shock and didn't believe it. I wanted to see him, I needed the visual proof and I never got that."
Blair says drinking and driving isn't worth the risk and the aftermath of a crash has lifelong consequences, not only for family members but everyone involved.
She would like to see more services offered to help discourage impaired driving.
"I think as a community, even in Kelowna, we're fighting to get Uber and I think those things need to be fought for more," says Blair. "Not being able to park overnight on the street, or not being able to get a cab, is what makes people say at the end of the night -- 'you know what, I'm just going to drive home.'"
Sarnia police say impaired driving is still very much a problem in the community with 46 people being charged in 2016, compared to 39 in 2015.
