The parents of a young girl killed by an alleged drunk driver while feeding a horse beside a rural road in Ladner hope their daughter’s tragic story can be a catalyst to de-clog B.C.’s justice system when it comes to impaired driving.
Alexa Renee Middelaer, 4, was killed on May 17, 2008. The woman accused in her death goes to trial next May.
“It took seven months to lay that charge,” said Laurel Middelaer, Alexa’s mother. “We were on scene.
The woman who did this was on scene. All the bits to the puzzle were there, but it took seven months to get that evidence. It’s tough.”
A golf tournament will be held tomorrow at Kings Links by the Sea golf course in Delta to raise funds for the Alexa Middelaer Fund to target impaired driving on B.C. roads.
Among those initiatives, Middelaer said, is advocacy to improve the conviction rate for impaired drivers — only half of impaired driving cases result in convictions.
The family met with former attorney general Wally Oppal and plans to meet soon with Solicitor General Kash Heed.
“We believe in working with all stakeholders,” Middelaer said. “It’s very easy to gripe and rant and complain but we’re looking for solutions.”
