‘Devastating’: Clay County mother reflects on 3 years since infant was killed in DUI crash

CLAY COUNTY, Fla. – The Christmas play has not been the aforesaid for Abby Eberwein and her household since the tragic 2018 decease of her 6-month-old daughter, Sophie Grace Leon-Friesenhahn.

The babe was killed successful a clang successful Clay County arsenic her household was heading location from getting pictures with Santa conscionable 1 week earlier Christmas successful 2018. The clang besides injured Eberwein and 2 others successful the car.

Randy Teal Jr., 33, pleaded blameworthy Aug. 9 to DUI manslaughter and DUI superior wounded and was aboriginal sentenced to 14 years successful situation for his relation successful the crash.

Teal was driving location from a Jaguars crippled connected Dec. 16, 2018, when, according to an apprehension warrant affidavit, his Jeep struck the rear of a conveyance stopped successful postulation connected Blanding Boulevard successful Orange Park, causing a concatenation absorption crash.

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“I can’t even, like, enactment into words conscionable however hard it was, for me, my family,” Eberwein told News4JAX connected Friday. “We inactive celebrated Christmas, but we near Sophie’s presents retired nether the histrion and everything and past conscionable seeing them conscionable broke us.”

Eberwein said the sentencing of Teal provided immoderate magnitude of closure, but the household volition ne'er beryllium the same.

“I’m ne'er going to 100% heal, but it’s each time is simply a tiny spot easier for us,” Eberwein said. “It’s inactive very, precise hard for america to woody with it, but leaving the country knowing she had that Justice made it a small spot easier.”

In 2020, Florida saw 746 deaths from crashes involving alcohol, drugs oregon both, according to the latest information from the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. So acold successful 2021, 587 radical person died.

The Ad Council and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration are again issuing a connection of informing with “Project Roadblock.”

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The run has been ongoing for the past 18 years, specifically focused successful the week betwixt Christmas and New Year’s Eve erstwhile vacation drinking is astatine its peak.

For Eberwein and her family, though, the informing is idiosyncratic and constant.

“Just don’t portion and thrust adjacent if you deliberation you’re okay, you’re not,” Eberwein said. “Because [Teal] thought helium was OK, and present we are, having mislaid my daughter. So conscionable don’t portion and drive.”

According to the National Institute connected Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, 40% of postulation deaths during the holidays impact a operator who is impaired by alcohol, compared to 28% for the remainder of the year.

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