Joey and David have been friends for 10 years, a friendship that became family. David was also Joey‘s barber. It was unusual for Joey to take a haircut on Wednesdays, but because David was leaving on vacation and loyal to his clients, he wanted to make sure Joey was able to get a haircut before he left. Joey was David’s last client of the night and as usual Joey wanted to make sure David was able to close and leave the barbershop safely. So, Joey waited for David and together walked over to Joeys car on the horrific morning of August 3, 2022 when our lives change forever.

On August 3, 2022 at 4:00 am, a drunk driver collided into another vehicle after driving at an extremely high velocity and not stopping at the red light. The other vehicle which included a father and a son, flew onto the sidewalk killing Joey and David. Joey was taken to Harlem Hospital and pronounced dead at 4:36 AM. Just imagine receiving a call from your dad saying “Elizabeth, Joel passed away“. Just imagine seeing your mother crying to the top of her lungs saying “this can’t be true, my son can’t be dead. Elizabeth please tell me it’s a lie. Please!“. Just imagine having to take all the strength you have right before entering an emergency room to identify the body of your sibling. I will never forget that morning ever on my life.

The person responsible for the death of my brother Joey and David were never arrested and were only given two summons; one for speeding and one for not stopping at a red light. It has been 28 days since this horrific day and no arrest have been made. There are two families grieving the loss of our loved ones, that were dear to us and loved by many.

We are looking for justice for Joey and David. The person responsible for the death of these two beautiful souls needs to be criminally charged, harshly sentenced and in jail. We won’t be able to get our love ones back. Today it is us and tomorrow it could be one of your loved ones.

You have probably heard the fax before- driving while impaired or intoxicated is a serious traffic safety problem in the United States. In New York State, more than 40% of all highways/street deaths involved impaired driving. But the facts and statistics do not tell the whole story. Behind the numbers are thousands of lives cut short, permanent or disabling injuries, and families devastated by someone who drove under the influence of alcohol or other drugs.

The person responsible for Joeys and David’s death caused the accident, because he was driving while under the influence of alcohol and other substances which resulted in the death of pedestrians (Joey and David) and seriously injuring other occupants of other cars, therefore should be charged with crime of vehicular Manslaughter (also known as vehicle homicide). This person should not be the exception to the law. They should not be allowed to get away with taking these lives away from us. Our voices needs to be heard and justice needs to be made! We will sleep until justice is made!