Livermore family remembers mom, child killed by alleged drunk driver

LIVERMORE, Calif. (KGO) -- The pain of loss is still strong for loved a year after a drunk driver allegedly killed a mother and child during a celebration in Livermore.

The family of the mother and daughter reunited at the scene of the crash Sunday.

Photos of a baby holding her bottle and a mother holding her daughter were displayed. "She just like an angel, that's how we remember them you know, like angels," victim's brother-in-law Angel Martinez said.

Esperanza Morales-Rodriguez and her 14-month-old daughter Ulidia died May 2 2015 when accused drunk driver Brian Jones crashed into them after leaving the Livermore wine festival.

"It's been, it's been a tough year," Martinez said.

Last year, the family was celebrating a First Communion. On Sunday, they gathered to prevent another drunk driver from getting on the road. For some of them, it's the first time back to the crash site.

"It doesn't feel like one year ago, it feels like just yesterday, I mean just a couple of hours," Martinez said.

They channeled their grief into action as they made a somber procession down the street Jones drove.

"I think the most important thing for people to know is they have choices to make, and it's fine if they want to go to the wine festival and go anywhere to drink, but they need to make a choice before they go about how they're going to get home," Mother's Against Drunk Driving spokesperson Carol Leister said.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving is working on a state bill that would require a DUI offender to use an ignition interlock device.

"Having those in there will stop an impaired driver from driving," Leister said.

Martinez wishes he could turn back the clock. Instead, he's looking forward to telling everyone at this year's wine festival to get a safe ride.

"If you drink, don't drive, because you're going to hurt other people, you're going to kill other people. I mean you just didn't kill someone, you killed the whole family," Martinez said.