Parents push for tougher DUI laws after losing kids to drunken driving

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania parents came together in Harrisburg, urging lawmakers to make DUI laws tougher, because each of them has lost a child.

One of those parents drove all the way from Slippery Rock. His son was hit eight years ago, and just passed away in December. He spends his time fighting for another life to be saved.

"There's not a day go by that I don't miss my son," James Pasqualini told Channel 11 News. Joe Pasqualini, his son, was walking down Route 173 in Slippery Rock when he was hit by a drunken driver and left a quadriplegic.

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"It was completely preventable. It was a decision by the drunk driver to get behind the wheel of the car," Pasqualini said. He has been working with various organizations over the years to tell Joe's story. Tuesday he went to the state capital with Pennsylvania Parents Against Impaired Driving.

While in Harrisburg, Pasqualini also visited the DUI Victim's Memorial Park, where a brick with his son's name will soon be placed. He's hoping lawmakers heard the message loud and clear about the state's DUI laws, and the push for change."

Cox Media Group