SoCal tennis stars death haunts mother, who vows | College News
The mom of a local tennis star joined Los Angeles County prosecutors on Monday in calling for stricter DUI penalties in California after they are saying her son was killed by a two-time drunk driver.
Braun Levi, an 18-year-old South Bay tennis standout, was struck and killed by a car in the early-morning hours of May 4 in Manhattan Beach.
According to Los Angeles County prosecutors, 33-year-old Jenia Resha Belt was behind the wheel, rushing while driving on a suspended license and with a blood alcohol stage virtually twice the legal restrict. Belt, prosecutors say, has a earlier conviction for driving drunk.
“California’s current DUI laws are broken and weak and fail to protect families like ours, and it’s devastating,” Braun’s mom, Jennifer Levi, said at a news convention Monday. “His death haunts my every breath, every day.”
Although his dad and mom had been proud of his athletic and tutorial achievements, they had been most proud of how he handled other people, Levi said. “He had a smile for everybody. He had a heart for everybody. I miss him so much.”
In mild of her son’s death, Levi said she would work with state Sen. Bob Archuleta (D-Pico Rivera), whose granddaughter died after being hit by a drunk driver last yr, to write and go a invoice that will restructure the state’s DUI penalty legal guidelines and necessities, she said.
“The feeling, the sight, the smell of identifying our son’s body will never leave my mind, body or soul, so I will not be silent,” she said.
The SoCal athlete, who died a month before his high faculty commencement after coming into the top national ranks in boys tennis, is a component of a bigger pattern of DUI-related deaths over the last 15 years, according to a CalMatters investigative sequence that L.A. Dist. Atty. Nathan J. Hochman referenced.
Roadway deaths have been steadily rising since 2010, partially due to repeat drunk drivers and people driving over the velocity restrict, CalMatters reported. liquor-related deaths have elevated by 50% over the last decade, according to the investigation.
“Braun should be home right now from his first semester at UVA, spending the holidays with his family, their first as a family still displaced by the Palisades fire,” said Councilmember Traci Park, whose district consists of Pacific Palisades.
“He should be planning his future, not being remembered for the way his life was taken from him.”
California’s DUI legal guidelines, although thought of to be nation-leading in the Eighties, have fallen behind the curve, Hochman said.
Hochman warned drivers, particularly forward of the New Year’s vacation, that his workplace would continue to charge them — and probably those who overserve alcohol at bars or events — with critical crimes.
“We are here to prevent crimes and send crystal clear messages to would-be drunk and drug drivers, to people who want to engage in excessive speed on our roads: We will come after you,” Hochman said, calling the issue a “fight for people’s lives.”
Belt is charged with second-degree homicide, felony gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and a misdemeanor rely of driving with a suspended license after a DUI. She is being held on $2-million bail and faces life in prison if convicted.
Belt’s arraignment is scheduled for Jan. 13.
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