‘I'd rather hold him than his picture’: Family grieves son killed by impaired driver
Deadly DUI crashes at dangerous, shocking levels in WA
Instead of getting ready to spend time with loved ones this Thanksgiving, one family in Fircrest is planning a funeral.
FIRCREST, Wash. - Instead of getting ready to spend time with loved ones for Thanksgiving, one family in Fircrest is planning a funeral. Matthew Nguyen, 19, died after his family said he was hit by an impaired driver.
FOX 13 Seattle talked with his dad as he held tightly to his son’s photo.
"I miss everything about him," Beng Tran said. "It hurts, it hurts, I just can’t stop thinking about him."
On Nov. 18, the 19-year-old and his 15-year-old sister were driving to the store when the impaired driver hit them, according to charging documents. Tran heard sirens, felt something was wrong and ran up the hill, where he saw his son on the ground.
"I was holding him and calling his name trying to wake him up," Tran said.
Matthew was already gone. He died from multiple blunt force injuries, according to the Pierce County Medical Examiner. Paramedics took Matthew’s sister to the hospital with minor cuts.
"He was just supposed to go get stuff for his dad and come back home, and he never got to go back home," said Matthew's girlfriend, Kaelin Miller. "We’re just all crushed and heartbroken and, I mean, that guy took my whole future from me."
Teen accused of killing toddler in SR 18 crash pleads not guilty
The 19-year-old accused of causing a crash that killed a toddler and seriously injured a mother appeared in court on Wednesday.
Director of the Washington Traffic Safety Commission, Shelly Baldwin, told FOX 13 Seattle deadly crashes involving impaired drivers are happening at dangerous levels.
"We’re really in a crisis, we’ve had a 50% increase in traffic fatalities between 2019 and 2023," said Baldwin.
That’s 538 deaths to 810, according to Baldwin. She says at least 50% of those involved an impaired driver. While it should go without saying, she said most traffic crashes can easily be prevented by driving sober — that way everyone gets home, especially during the holiday season.
"We lose a number of people who don’t make it to their Thanksgiving table or their Christmas table, and it’s heartbreaking," Baldwin said.
Right now, a memorial marks the area where the 19-year-old was killed. The memorial is filled with all of Matthew’s favorite things, like persimmons.
"He said, ‘That’s the fruit I love,’ and he only ate one, and I bought a whole bunch, and he didn’t have a chance to eat [them]," said Tran.
His family also left some of his favorite meals made by his mom. "He just loved his mom’s cooking," Tran said. There are also flowers at the memorial and at their home.
"I wish I don’t see the flowers, I rather see him than the flowers, I rather hold him than hold his picture," Tran said.
The family has set up a GoFundMe to help with funeral costs and medical bills.
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