He kept driving after he hit Karen’s car, side-swiped another, and only stopped because he finally hit a tree.
His license has been suspended 13 times and he’s been in 5 accidents - including one where he drove into the bedroom of a house and just missed a sleeping couple. He has a 2006 DWI arrest, for which he’d been fined $700 and given 3 years probation.
Tell us about the drunk driver who killed your sister. They tried to revive her but she was killed at the scene. Karen was covered in the white paint when her body was brought to the hospital. The paint cans they were bringing to paint Ken’s new apartment exploded. Maverick bolted from the car in panic (and was found the next day). They were stopped at a red light, singing along to the radio when a drunk driver rammed into them. On June 26, 2016, Karen, Bill, Rob and their dog Maverick left at night to avoid traffic on their way to Ken’s new apartment in Virginia to help he and his wife Cynthia get settled in. Where was your sister going when she was hit? On the day she was killed, she had had them over to float in the pool. They loved hanging out with their tight-knit group of friends. They spoke every day and saw each other just about as often. She and Lynne were the closest I’ve ever seen two people be. She lived on Long Island, was married to her husband Bill for 28 years and had 2 sons in their 20s, Ken and Rob.
She called me and Lynne “Sissy” and Will, “Bro.” When you talked, she asked questions because she was really listening. She had a karaoke business on the weekends. She was a nurse for 29 years, and she was exactly the nurse you hope you or your loved one would get. She would offer to refinish your floor and mean it (and do it, even when you were like, “No, it’s really okay,” and when it was done you’d be thrilled she pushed for it). Karen was energetic, super helpful and friendly. My siblings and I have never specified that we were “half” brother/sister so I haven’t started now, but I know the implication makes the age logistics confusing. So we didn’t grow up or live together, but we were always close. Our father and their mother divorced, he and my mom, who have an 18 year age gap, got married, and they had me and my younger brother. I enjoy making plans to do something cool with my husband Ryan, only to back out of them in favor of ordering from the same Chinese place every week and watching Law and Order: SVU.įor clarity’s sake, Karen was my half-sister and we had a big age difference - she was 23 years older than me, and my other half-sister, Lynne, is 21 years older. I’ve also recently started a newsletter called Positive Gossip where I sporadically start nice rumors about whatever I’m into at the moment. I cohost a podcast with my brother Will called Guide to the Unknown, where we talk about horror, mysteries and general weird stuff. I work as an assistant in a small business called Boho Berry where I ship sticker and stationary orders, do community management and write for the blog. How would you navigate life if your sister was killed by a drunk driver? How would you get through the grief and anger if your sister was hit at red light by someone who’d had their license suspended 13 times? This is Kristen and her sister Karen’s story. Kristen (back left), Karen (back middle), and their family.