LAKELAND, Fla. — Christmas was filled with sorrow for the family of Leslie Stone. The mom of two was hit while riding her wheelchair to the store on Christmas Eve.
"She loved her kids. She was looking forward to having Christmas dinner with them and opening her gifts with the kids,” said her mother, Pam Wences.
Wences said her daughter always wanted to make people happy. If you were sad, she would crack a joke to change your mood.
"Knowing she was hit by a drunk driver that made the choice to drink and drive and kill my daughter, it's hard to accept. It's hard to deal with. I keep waiting on her to walk through that door,” Wences said.
Wences is now grappling with the loss of two children in a few short years.
According to the Polk County Sheriff's Office, Stone, 40, was riding down West Pipkin Road near Fairfield Drive in Lakeland when 67-year-old Howard Bennett of Plant City struck and killed her with his car.
Deputies said Bennett’s blood alcohol content was nearly twice the legal limit.
"If you leave the house, that could be your last time seeing your family. It's scary," said Stone’s sister, Obdulia Wences.
This is the second pedestrian death on West Pipkin Road this month.
The segment of the road where Stone was killed has no sidewalks. County officials tell ABC Action News six-foot wide concrete sidewalks are upgrades that will be part of a road widening project. The work is not expected to be complete until November 2024.
Stone's sister said the road improvements are not coming fast enough, and she believes it played a part in her death.
"They should focus on putting a sidewalk in with the railing for pedestrians or disabled people like my sister," said Obdulia Wences.
Now, she is pushing the county to find a way to speed up fixes.
