PORTLAND, Ore. (KGW) — Family and friends gathered in Vancouver, filling the chairs of a beautiful wedding venue on Sunday afternoon.
“November 13th would have been their one-year anniversary,” said Justine Baker, talking about her sister, 37-year-old Danielle Abrahams.
But instead of marking a joyous occasion like they celebrated last fall, family and friends returned to the same venue to honor Abrahams’ life.
Abrahams died on Aug. 3 when a car drove through her house and into her living room. She was sitting on the couch with her dog and was pinned under the car.
“I thought (Abrahams’ husband) was joking when he told me she had been hit by a car and I said, ‘I thought you guys were at home,’ and he said, ‘Yeah, she was on the couch and a car came through the house,'” Baker said.
But a month later, Baker and her family choose to focus on the love Abrahams brought to their lives.
“It changed my life forever, it changed all of our lives forever,” Baker said, talking about the deadly crash.
Police believe the driver of the car was under the influence at the time of the crash.
“We always hail a cab, we always get a taxi, we take the Uber, we call a friend. There’s no reason for it, it’s so senseless,” Baker said.
Now, Baker and her family want justice. They want the woman behind the wheel to own up to her actions.
Vancouver police identified the driver as Karen Baker (no relation to Justine Baker). Officers arrested her for vehicular homicide and DUI.
“She’s going to get to have many more Christmases and holidays and anniversaries with her family down the road, but we’ll never get to have our sister back and that was because of a decision she made,” Baker said.
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