Family still missing loved one killed by drunk driver in 2011

This Fourth of July, someone, somewhere will make the decision to get behind the wheel drunk, risking the safety of others in the process.

It’s been 13 years since Deanna Tucker, a woman with a young son and planning her wedding, was hit by a drunk driver – ending her life.

And while the years have ticked by, Alan Weatherford, her stepfather, tells us there is nothing that can heal the wound left by her absence.

“There’s not a day that goes by that we don’t think about Deanna,” Weatherford said. “It’s like ripping scar tissue open. You may see a picture of you may see a person who looks like Deanna. It’s the little things. I will tell you, it’s difficult not to see her or not to see her coming through the door.”

Drunk drivers don’t take away only one life. They take with them every memory that could have been – li

ke Landon Vancourt seeing his mother in the stands at a soccer game.

“There are types of moments there… birthdays and graduations. Holiday. Holidays are very difficult.”

Now, Alan Weatherford speaks on victim impact to people who have DUIs, hoping they will grasp the severity of the situation.

“You know, losing a daughter to a drunk driver, that should have never happened,” he said. “This should have never happened. Some of the defendants who are court orders to the victim’s impact panel they say they just thought they could make it home or they didn’t think they were that impaired until after the fact. The young man who killed Deanna, his intent was not to go out and kill anyone that day. But he did.”

For Deanna, Alan Weatherford hopes everyone chooses to drive sober this Fourth of July.