Farmington Couple Goes To Washington In Memory Of Late Son

FARMINGTON, CT/WASHINGTON, D.C. — A couple from Farmington recently journeyed to the nation's capital to lobby national leaders to work to prevent what happened to their son from happening to others.

Farmington residents Steve and Carri Roux, founders of The Luke Roux Foundation, based in Farmington, visited Capitol Hill to advocate for vehicle technology that can stop impaired drivers.

The couple tragically lost their 17-year-old son, Luke Roux, in 2022 at the hands of an impaired driver in Hartford.

U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., met with foundation members to discuss the Honoring Abbas Family Legacy to Terminate (HALT) Drunk Driving Act, which was passed in 2021.

It is named in honor of Michigan woman Rana Abbas Taylor’s family — her sister Rima, brother-in-law Issam, and their children Ali, Isabell, and Giselle — who were killed by a wrong-way drunk driver in Kentucky on Jan. 6, 2019. They were returning home from a Florida vacation.

The law requires a new federal regulation for anti-drunk driving technology that is not obvious to sober drivers, but prevents someone drunk from driving.

In addition, they discussed a plan for the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to define safety standards requiring automakers to integrate technology capable of detecting and preventing impaired driving.

The ultimate goal is to reduce and ultimately eliminate these preventable deaths.

Thanks to the work of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), the group joined other victims and advocates in Washington, D.C. to emphasize the need for the HALT Act and to hear directly from leaders in the automotive, safety, and technology sectors.

According to the foundation, they witnessed demonstrations from companies that have developed advanced systems capable of passively monitoring drivers and determining if they are unfit to drive whether due to impairment, distraction, or drowsiness.

"These tools are already proven, and they can stop preventable crashes before they happen," wrote the foundation in a statement.

For more information on the Luke Roux Foundation in Farmington, click on this link.

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From Aug. 18, 2022: Man, 21, Charged In Crash That Killed Teen, 17: Farmington Police

June 26, 2022: 'Farmington Teen Killed In Route 6 Crash'