Widow vows to fight drunk driving after her husband and four others die in North Texas car crash – KION546

By Olivia Leach

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NORTH TEXAS (KTVT) — Alecia Gunn remembers her wedding day as the happiest day of her life.

“Having him come into my life was a big deal for me,” she said, reflecting on her time with her husband, Willie Gunn, before he tragically became one of five victims of a serious car crash on I-35W Monday morning.

She fondly remembers him as a family man who loved to make her laugh.

“My children were young when he met me and he immediately took on the role of a father figure to me,” she said, noting that they were separated at the time of the accident.

Despite their separation, Alecia Gunn always believed that they would get back together as a couple.

“You don’t always have time,” she said, reflecting on the transience of life.

Among the dead were Willie Gunn, his girlfriend Amber Hopewell and their children. Police say the 19-year-old suspect, Eduardo Gonzalez, crashed into the limousine the family was traveling in at high speed. The limousine caught fire, but Gonzalez survived the crash. He has been charged with five counts of intoxicated manslaughter and driving while intoxicated.

“For someone who has been through this before, it's hard. It was like a punch in the stomach,” said Alecia Gunn.

She has already experienced the pain of losing someone due to drunk driving.

“I lost my mother in 2008 to a drunk driver. She was killed by the Stockyards,” she said.

Now Alecia Gunn is more determined than ever to put a stop to drunk driving.

“The young man is 19 years old. Not only he is responsible, but also the people around him. The person who gave him alcohol also gave him the car keys,” she said.

As an Uber driver, she takes pride in bringing people safely home to their families and preventing tragedies like this one.

“Last night, there was nothing I could do but go out and drive people. It was very hard, but there was nothing else I could do. There was nothing I would rather do than get people home safely,” said Alecia Gunn.

Willie Gunn's family plans to release a balloon at 6 p.m. Friday at Glenwood Park in Fort Worth. Amber Hopewell's family said this is an overwhelming loss for their family.

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