More than nine years ago, my life changed forever. On the night of her graduation from college, my daughter, Sarah Root, was killed by an illegal immigrant who was driving drunk — three times over the legal limit. The pain of losing a child is immeasurable. It’s a wound that never heals. Not a day goes by that I don’t think of Sarah — her bright smile, her sweet demeanor, her precious soul.
It’s impossible to describe that empty feeling. That feeling of hopelessness, devastation, and loss. The feeling that no parent should endure, but far too many have.
What’s even harder to describe is how our legal system let the illegal immigrant who murdered my daughter free. Instead of answering for his crimes, he posted bail, was released from custody, and fled the United States. I wasn’t notified that he was gone until it was too late. Just like that, the tiniest semblance of justice that could have been delivered evaporated.
When it felt like I had nowhere else to turn, I had the opportunity to meet with my Congressman, Randy Feenstra, to raise awareness about Sarah’s story and, ultimately, close that egregious loophole that let Sarah’s killer escape. During our conversation, Randy listened to my every word. As a father of four, he reiterated to me repeatedly that he wanted to do anything that he could to honor Sarah’s life and fix the law that caused our family unthinkable heartache.
Randy kept his promise.
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