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Monday, August 4, 2008

Alcohol laws shift slowly, incrementally

By Karen Lincoln Michel and Andy Nelesen • Gannett Wisconsin Media • August 4, 2008


The first time Michael Bukosky saw his daughter Sophia, she was lying in a casket.

Sophia died in the womb when her mother was seven months pregnant.

"She had Jen's mouth, so she would have had that amazing smile," Bukosky said, likening Sophia to his wife, Jennifer Bukosky. "She was cursed with my nose, but she had a full head of blonde hair — Jen's blonde hair. So she was the perfect mixture of us."

Sophia was killed April 25 in Oconomowoc when Mark Benson — a drug-impaired driver with three drunken driving convictions, the third just two days before the accident — allegedly struck the car in which the unborn child was riding, killing her and two other members of the family.

Not far from Sophia in the funeral home were the caskets of her mother, Jennifer, and her 10-year-old half-sister, Courtney Bella.

The tragedy engendered public outrage, focused attention on drunken driving and raised questions about Wisconsin's OWI laws.
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