Sister of longtime Bonneville employee killed in Scottsdale crash reminds public: Don’t drive drunk
Jan 10, 2023, 11:42 AM | Updated: 11:46 am
(Facebook Photo/Dawn Paugh)
(Facebook Photo/Dawn Paugh)
PHOENIX — The sister of a longtime Bonneville account executive killed by a suspected drunk driver late last month in Scottsdale has a message for those thinking about getting behind the wheel after a few drinks.
“I mean, my goodness, don’t do it,” Heather Hassan, the sister of Dawn Paugh, told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Gaydos and Chad on Thursday. “Oh my God, please do not do it.
“It’s so easy to have an app on your phone and get a rideshare. I don’t understand what the problem is with people not doing this.”
Paugh, who spent more than 20 years at KTAR News and Arizona Sports, was killed Dec. 30 after the rideshare she and her husband were in was struck by a vehicle traveling the wrong direction on a busy surface street.
Joshua Grabek, 48, is accused of driving his 2013 Subaru Legacy southbound in the northbound lanes on Hayden Road before hitting the vehicle, pushing it back about 20 feet.
Paugh, 58, was pronounced dead at a hospital. Her husband, 60-year-old Tom Paugh, is still recovering from his injuries. The driver of the rideshare vehicle, a 56-year-old man, suffered serious injuries.
Grabek had a .179 blood alcohol content when a breathalyzer test was conducted about an hour after the collision, according to court documents.
“It’s absolutely the worst thing I think anyone could go through, just having someone taken so violently, so quickly, without any warning,” Hassan said.
“I can’t think of anything worse on this earth to go through.”
Grabek suffered minor injuries and following his release from the hospital was arrested on one count of manslaughter, one count of aggravated DUI with wrong-way driving, two counts of aggravated assault and one count of endangerment.
A GoFundMe set up to support the Paugh family has raised nearly $90,000 in a week.
Hassan wants the public to remember her sister — and that driving while intoxicated is never acceptable.
“We’ve had a tremendous outpouring of love from everyone at KTAR and throughout the Valley, quite frankly,” Hassan said. “It’s amazing how many lives she touched.”
