Family Wants Justice After Nearly Being Killed By Alleged Drunk Driver

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DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) -  A family nearly wiped out by a suspected drunk driver say they can't believe that driver has yet to spend a night in jail.

It was the night of their kids' Christmas pageant.  The Pena's were driving home down 12th Street in Oak Cliff when they collided with a car at an intersection.

"All I saw were the headlights out of the corner of my eye," says Allison Pena.  "Our car flipped on its side and then slid all the way over here."

Pena remembers seeing her husband lying on the ground.

"He was passing in and out. I didn't know what was wrong with him. I was thinking oh, this was it. He's gone. But he wasn't," says Pena. "Thank God!"

Police say 17-year-old Anthony Sanchez is to blame for running a stop sign.

"They said, he's running, he's running. So other people were trying to catch him, so he wouldn't flee the scene of the accident," says Pena. "Then, I hear he's drunk, he's drunk!"

Uninsured with no driver's license, police say Sanchez had also been drinking beer and smoking marijuana behind the wheel.

Albert Pena spent three days in intensive care racking up $50,000 in medical bills.

"It still hurts all the time," says Albert Pena.

The couple's son, Austin, who was celebrating his 7th birthday that night was bruised.  Their daughter, Addison was okay, too.

Sanchez was charged initially with only a DWI misdemeanor.  He was arrested in January and released the same day.

Allison Pena took to Facebook urging police to upgrade the charge.  Almost six months later there's now a warrant charging Sanchez with intoxication assault.  But Allison Pena says she doesn't plan to stop pushing for action until she sees him behind bars.

"I just want consequences," says Pena. "I want to stop him before he kills the next family."

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