Last week, an entire Arab family was killed by a drunk driver who was commuting on the wrong lane down a highway.
Five members of the family died after their SUV burst into flames following collision with the pickup truck on a highway in Kentucky en route back to Michigan; the driver was also killed in the crash.
The family members have since been identified as lawyer Issam Abbas (42), doctor Rima Abbas (38), and their three kids Ali (13), Isabelle (12), and Giselle (7).
Following the tragic incident, Michigan congresswoman Debbie Dingell said she will introduce a bill that would require new cars to include an ignition interlock breathalyzer device. The democrat dedicated the bill in honor of the family, citing it as "Abbas Stop Drunk Driving Act".
"I'm preventing another life from being senselessly lost to drunk driving"
"In memory of the Abbas family"
"Our community will deeply miss them"
How does the device work?
The in-vehicle device would measure the driver's blood alcohol before the driver is given the green light to start the ignition.
"If we could keep one person from dying on the roads, and make people think twice before getting behind the wheel when they shouldn't — even when they are buzzed and think they'll be OK — then won't we have been successful?" Dingell said last week.
According to Detroit News, all states in the U.S. have some version of the device; however, only 29 have enacted mandatory measures for all drunk-driving offenses.
In Michigan, interlocks are mandatory for first-time DUI offenders convicted with blood-alcohol levels of 0.17 or higher.