YORK COUNTY, Pa. — “Being a mom, I should’ve been there to save him and I couldn’t," said Karen Reever.
Wounds still remain fresh for David and Karen Reever.
Their son, Officer David Tome was killed by a distracted driver 13 years ago.
He was 31 years old.
“He was always looking for the next step in the best that he could be," said David Reever.
The family is now turning that grief into purpose by becoming a voice of reason.
“Move over, save lives, and live your day to the best of your abilities," said David.
David and Karen spoke at Tuesday’s meeting with the Center for Traffic Safety and the Northern York County Regional Police Department to talk about the changes in the Move Over Law that will take effect on April 27.
“Driving is a skill that requires one hundred percent of your focus and attention. one hundred percent of your time," said Jeff Bowman, who works at the National Law Enforcement Liaison Program.
Pennsylvania’s Move Over Law requires drivers approaching an emergency response area who are unable to safely merge into a lane further away from the response area to slow to at least 20 mph less than the posted speed limit
One of the main changes is increased penalties from a $250 dollar fine to a $500 dollar fine for the first offense. It also creates a new point system that imposes two points for failure to merge into the lane away from the emergency response area.
“It's also included some different groups that were not previously covered, one of them being a disabled motorist," said Bowman.
David and Karen say that it’s never easy to reopen those wounds, but they hope that by doing so, it can prevent another family from ever knowing what it’s like to lose a loved one.
"If we can get the word out and save one family from going through what we went through, the past 13 years….That’s what we’re trying to do right now, get the word out," said Karen.