SARASOTA, Fla. — Paul and Sarah Alexander never thought they would become advocates for changes to a state law.
"How lucky we were to have had someone that makes saying goodbye so hard," they said together, reciting the words etched on their teenager's gravestone.
It's also forever imprinted on their heart.
Lily Glaubach, their daughter, was hit by a car as she was crossing a lighted crosswalk on Bay Street and Old Venice Road in Osprey in August of 2022.
"The hit-and-run aspect of the tragedy was probably the most hurtful of it all," said Sarah.
Investigators said David Chang took his car to a Tampa body shop for repairs a day after the crash. They said he claimed a tree went through the windshield. In reality, he had hit the 13-year-old just blocks away from her home.
His decision could lead to changes statewide.
"It's really crazy that the state already has a law in place to help law enforcement find robbers with pawnshops. Yet, people are killed in accidents. We have nothing in place to help law enforcement," said Paul Alexander, her stepdad.
There's a Florida bill on the table, dubbed the Lily Glaubach Act, that could require auto body shops to ask for a police report or take down a long list of information and file it with police when someone comes in with body damage.
The bill reads, "If a customer requests that a motor vehicle repair shop perform work to restore a motor vehicle damaged in an accident or a collision, the motor vehicle repair shop must, before preparing a written repair estimate required by subsection (2), request that the customer provide a written crash report."
According to the proposed bill, if the customer doesn't have a report, the shop is then required to request one from law enforcement.
"If it saves one family here, wonderful. We knew she would do good things, and even in her passing, she still is. And that, that brings us.. joy isn't the right word, but some sense of she's still accomplishing what we knew she would in her life," he said.
If a police report isn't available, the form would gather information such as the shop's address, car's VIN, license tag number, color, and description of the damage and the person bringing it in.
When law enforcement types in keywords, it could come up with the best matches and the car's location.
But there is concern from shop owners.
"I think it's a good thing that they're trying to crack down on it. The problem that I do have with it at the same time is that they're putting a lot on the owners of the repair shop to police it, and it becomes a lot more paperwork," said Ron Katz, who owns Midas Auto in West Palm Beach.
Ron Katz said the bill leaves him with questions.
"I'm just worried about how it's going to get policed as far as us doing our job and then notifying, and then if for some reason we skip a step, are we in trouble for skipping that step?" he asked.
But State Trooper Kenn Watson, who spent years investigating hit-and-run crimes, sees this as a simple step that could make a huge impact.
"Obviously, you know the people that are working in these shops, they want to do the right thing as well. This is just one more tool for them to assist us, and together as a community, we can give the families justice," said Watson.
The Alexanders know just how important that justice can be.
"To eliminate the idea of not knowing for another family is something wonderful," said Paul Alexander.
Chang was sentenced to 15 years in prison for the hit-and-run.
