ONLY ON: ‘To save somebody’s life,’ victim of drunk-driving crash raising money to pay for NYE rides

ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — A happy ending last year to a family outing at St. Augustine’s Nights of Lights turned tragic.

Raquel and Daniel Haralambou, their daughter, Raquel’s brother Jimmy and his wife were riding home when a pickup truck hit them head-on.

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Florida Highway Patrol says 32-year-old Michael Allen Rhein had been driving the wrong way while intoxicated on State Road 207 in St. Johns County.

”Buzzed, impaired, drunk, it’s all the same. You get behind the wheel and you can change somebody’s life forever,” Haralambou said.

When she woke up days later in the hospital, she was told she’d lost her brother Jimmy and her unborn twins.

Haralambou doesn’t want another family to go through what hers did. Now, ahead of New Year’s Eve, she’s raised over $500 through social media and is offering to pay for people’s rides home if they’ve been drinking.

Haralambou wishes somebody had been there to offer Rhein a ride home the night of the crash.

”If I could save and make one person’s life different, that’s something that was put on my heart that I would like to do. So, we’ve been raising money and I would personally like to buy Ubers for people that are drinking,” she said.

Finding purpose in her pain, Haralambou knows Jimmy would be proud.

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”I just want to be able to save somebody’s life,” she added.

Haralambou plans to continue raising money to pay for rides on all holidays. If you’d like to donate or need a ride yourself, you can call or text 904-581-7362.

Action News Jax reported in September when Rhein was arrested on three charges of vehicular manslaughter. Court records show he has a felony pretrial set for Feb. 2, 2022.

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