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Committee expected to vote on drunken driving proposals

Posted at 8:37 AM, May 29, 2019
and last updated 2019-05-29 09:37:53-04

MADISON, Wis. — The state's Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee is expected to vote on two pieces of drunken driving legislation on Thursday.

The first, Assembly Bill 15, would require OWI offenders to appear in court.

The second, Assembly Bill 17, would require a mandatory jail time for offenders found guilty in OWI homicide cases.

Sheila Lockwood says the man who drove drunk and killed her son has not served any time in prison.

"I do look at it as murder," she said.

Court documents say that Austin Lockwood was the passenger in an SUV that crashed in Oneida County. His friend, Eric Labahn, was the driver. A criminal complaint says he was over the legal limit.

"Two police officers wake me up, are at my front door, and they wanted me to sit down," she said. "I wouldn't sit down, and they told me Austin was gone."

Lockwood said that she now tries to do something every day for Austin. She's made trips to Madison to urge lawmakers to toughen drunken driving laws. She hopes that other families don't have to share her story of heartbreak and loss.

"I would just hope that we can do something to change the laws," she said.