Peoria Woman Remembers Son, Pushes For "Chris's Law"
By: Alexandra Sutter
Updated: July 28, 2012
PEORIA -- A Peoria woman is pushing for a new law in Illinois.
Brenda Payton lost her son six years ago when he was hit by a car on War Memorial Drive.
Now Payton is taking action against drunk drivers, and is headed to Springfield in her son's honor.
The law she's proposing requires any driver involved in a crash that hurts someone to have mandatory drug and alcohol testing within one hour.
She says the driver who hit her son was intoxicated, but took a breathalyzer test six hours after the crash.
"That's the problem right now drunk driving is such a major issue. Somebody loses their life every 50 minutes at the hands of a drunk driver and it's not only about my problem, it's everybody's problem, because we are all at risk," Payton said.
Payton and supporters let 26 balloons go at Landmark Plaza in honor of Chris, who was 26 years old when he was killed.
