Could Any of This Have Been Prevented?
Watson answered that question directly. “By planning ahead, this tragedy could have most certainly been avoided,” he said. “Now, we have several families who have been destroyed, including the driver himself, who is now looking at several years behind bars.”
Larry Coggins, the state director of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, further emphasized that the driver had every option available that night, from designated drivers and taxis to rideshare apps, yet chose not to use any of them.
Coggins also looked at the mindset behind impaired driving, explaining that no one leaves their home planning to cause a crash, take a life, or get a DUI. Instead, he pointed out that the real danger begins the moment someone drinks, as alcohol quickly destroys a person’s ability to make logical decisions.
For Akey’s mother, the grief is immeasurable, but she has chosen to speak because her daughter deserves to be known beyond the circumstances of her death.
“Her life was just on the horizon; her life was just getting started with her boyfriend,” she said. “She was going to graduate next year, and I want everyone to see her and feel that.”
How Are the People Who Loved Her Keeping Her Memory Going?
In the days following the crash, Akey’s friends launched the hashtag #lovelikelauryn, building a corner of social media where the people she touched have gathered to share what she meant to them.
Mucho has pointed anyone who didn’t know her daughter toward that space. “You can feel it by looking at her smile,” she said. “I want everyone to see her and be like her. She was never mean to anybody. She brought people together, so many people together. Loved hard, loved so hard.”
On May 23, Mucho also posted a video collage on Instagram showing how much Akey loved being at the beach or near water. In the caption, she wrote:
“She belonged where the water meets the sky. A drunk driver took her from us far too soon. So if you take anything from this video — don’t drink and drive…please! Fish on, baby girl. We’ll find you in every sunset on the water.”
Family members left to cherish her memory include her mother, her father, Jason Akey, and her stepmother, Amy Akey. She also leaves behind her stepfather, Robert Mucho, her brothers Zachary, Maddox, Jaxon, and Avery Akey, and her grandparents Julie Torgersen, Steven Peavy, and Jim Akey, alongside a large circle of extended relatives and close friends.
