MILWAUKEE — Nearly 20 names were read aloud at Milwaukee City Hall Tuesday evening. Each life one lost in an unimaginable tragedy.
“Drunk driving is not an accident,” Sheila Lockwood said. “Killing someone while driving drunk is preventable. These crashes are 100 percent preventable.”
For Lockwood, she’s been without her oldest son, Austin, for over five years now. He was killed on June 10, 2018, after helping a friend clear out a cabin in Wisconsin.
With a blood alcohol content (BAC) of .117, driving 70 mph in a 40 mph zone, the driver lost control and crashed.
Austin was killed and the man responsible was sent to jail.
However, the difficult part for Sheila is, that man sat in a cell for three years; less time than she’s been without Austin as she deals with a lifetime of pain.
“He’s already out enjoying his life,” Lockwood said. “Justice was not served. The drunk driver took our holidays, our birthdays, and every single normal day away from us. The person that murdered Austin received three years in prison. We all received a life sentence.”
Lockwood was one of several speakers at the Mothers Against Drunk Driving vigil. An effort to have their loved ones remembered, but also a reminder to every person who can hear them that laws in Wisconsin need to change.
Several laws have changed in recent years, including the creation of a mandatory minimum for drivers convicted of OWI Homicide. If it happened today, the man responsible for killing Austin would have been sentenced to at least five years in prison.
But advocates want more. A big focus is adding ignition interlock devices to all vehicles, something the Biden Administration added to its infrastructure bill two years ago. Starting in 2026, it would require all new vehicles to have an IID installed.
“For people who already have them installed, it stopped 411,000 rides. Think about that, 411,000 times somebody got behind the wheel of the car, tried to start it, and because of the technology we have, the car would not start.”
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