A Long Island mother's heartbreak was on full display after her 9-year-old son died in a car crash involving a suspected drunk driver, and now she is calling for the charges against the man to be upgraded.
Juliana Salas is dealing with the pain and anger any parent would experience from such a devastating loss. Her son, Angel, was with his father as they traveled back home on the Long Island Expressway on Aug. 22. The boy was in the back seat when a suspected impaired driver rear-ended his father's Toyota Corolla.
By the time Juliana made it to Stony Brook Hospital following the crash, Angel was already on life support.
"I was just sitting in a room with my son. Well, he's hooked up to a machine and people are just keeping his body alive, but he's no longer there," she said.
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Doctors kept her son alive in order for his organs to be collected to help other children. Angel died on Sunday.
"I did things to make his life as good as I could provide," Salas said, "Without him being here, there goes my reason for fighting. That's how it feels right now."
Travis Dickson, the driver of the BMW that crashed into the car, was charged with driving while intoxicated — which amounts to a misdemeanor ticket. Court papers stated that officers observed he had "glassy bloodshot eyes and with slow slurred speech."
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Dickson told officers at the scene that he had smoked marijuana. He also was driving despite having had his license revoked.
"An innocent child's life was taken because someone just made really, really foolish decisions," Salas said, urging prosecutors to upgrade the charges in order for the family to get some justice.
The mother is still trying to process her tragic loss.
"I would have made better choices myself as a parent, I would have had more patience. I would have kissed him more often, I would have given him more hugs," she said through tears.
The Suffolk County district attorney said that the investigation remains ongoing, but added that prosecutors are looking to bring the case before a grand jury, where they can potentially upgrade the charges.
