‘Unbearable anguish.’ Relatives of 5 killed by KY drunk driver fight for federal change
Rana Abbas Taylor:
The day I learned the devastating news that my sister and only sibling, Rima (38), brother-in-law Issam (42) and their three beautiful children - my nephew and two nieces, Ali (13), Isabella (12) and Giselle (7) - were killed in a head-on collision by a wrong-way drunk driver on I-75 in Lexington, is a day that will haunt me forever. The recollection of when I received the news from the Lexington Deputy Coroner – who answered a call I made to my nephew’s cellphone – still conjures up unbearable anguish, along with the paralyzing realization that nearly my entire family is gone. Worse than a nightmare, as the human mind cannot venture to such a depth of terror.
Last January, as Lexington-area residents woke up to morning television news video of the horrific fire from the crash, I fought through suffocating sobs to telephone my parents from my dead sister’s living room to inform them their daughter, son-in-law and all their grandchildren were gone. They were going home to Northville, Mich., after a Florida vacation. We had dinner plans that evening. Rima’s last message to me: “You better be there.”
They were five hours from home. My baby sister and best friend, and her entire family, killed on impact. The drunk driver, Joey Lee Bailey of Georgetown, also died.
Greg Bubalo:
Despite their losses, Rana and her impressive family are overcoming their grief in a selfless campaign to save the lives of others. They are lobbying for federal legislation that could virtually eliminate drunk driving.
Following the crash, hundreds of friends and extended family in Northville and Dearborn gathered, fell numb and mourned. U.S. Representative Debbie Dingell of Michigan was among the mourners. Weeks later, Dingell drafted legislation requiring new cars and trucks have advanced alcohol detection technology to prevent the engine from starting when the driver is drunk. The Honoring Abbas Family Legacy to Terminate (HALT) Drunk Driving Act will require that all new vehicles have passive alcohol detection systems. Dingell’s bill gained bipartisan support when U.S. Sens. Tom Udall (D-N.M.) and Rick Scott (R-Fla.) proposed similar legislation for the Senate – the Reduce Impaired Driving for Everyone (RIDE) Act.
The RIDE Act was publicly unveiled by Udall and Scott in Washington during an Oct. 16 ceremony. Rana was among the speakers at the event, along with Issam’s sister, Megan Mirza. These bills allow an adequate amount of time for the technology to be tested and fine-tuned. Both proposals provide time necessary for auto manufacturers to prepare for the required technology.
Annually, about 170 people in Kentucky die because of drunk drivers. Nationally, about 12,000 families, like the Abbas family, suffer the deaths of their loved ones from drunk driving. We Kentuckians should all join Rana and her family’s campaign to stop these tragic deaths. Hopefully, our Kentucky congressional delegation will join senators Udall and Scott, and congresswoman Dingell, to enact this legislation that would literally keep drunk drivers off the road. Write to your Congressman and our Senators and ask them to support the HALT and the RIDE acts in the House and Senate, and let’s get something done in Washington on legislation that everyone should support.
Rana Abbas Taylor lost five family members in a 2018 head-on collision with a drunk driver on I-75 in Lexington. She is a resident of Northville, Mich.
Greg Bubalo is managing partner of Becker Law Office, who is representing the estate of the Abbas family in a lawsuit related to the I-75 crash against two bars.
This story was originally published January 30, 2020 at 11:50 AM.