[protected-iframe id=”a5bcea8350ba8506309a6714fdaba4ed-29519643-98557584″ info=”http://www.kxii.com/templates/2015_Sub_Video_Share?contentObj=483647831″ width=”640″ height=”360″ frameborder=”0″ scrolling=”no”]
ARDMORE, Okla. – A family is sharing the story of their loved one who was killed by a drunk driver during Memorial Day weekend eight years ago.
On May 29, 2010, Benjamen Love, 21, was turning into Walmart when a speeding truck ran a red light and T-boned Love’s pickup, which then caused him to crash into a pole.
Love was taken to the hospital where he spent several weeks in the Intensive Care Unit at a hospital in Oklahoma City.
“I called the hospital and I asked them, ‘Hey, do y’all have a Ben Love?’ and they’re like, ‘Yes, we do, we need family here immediately,'” Love’s sister Jessica Solis told KXII. “The back of my mind, [I] was sitting there telling me it wasn’t him, don’t think like that.”
Sadly, Love died on July 4, 2010.
Scott Wigington, then 26, was driving the pickup that hit Love’s truck, killing him, and also critically injuring a 16-year-old passenger.
Wigington later pleaded guilty to first-degree manslaughter and a DUI causing great bodily injury.
He was sentenced to 15 years for manslaughter and 18 months for critically injuring the passenger.
“That’s bad when you got to go tell a family that you know their loved one has been killed due to somebody drinking and driving,” Trooper Chasen Bennett said. “It’s totally avoidable, if you’re going to drink, have someone drive you.”
The family says they hope Love’s story will help prevent people from drinking and driving.
In 2023, Wiginton will be up for parole.
