KEARNS, Utah — Over 20 years ago, Semir Lilic fled war in Bosnia to move to Utah, where he eventually had two kids.
On Jan. 14, the three of them were on their way to get a haircut when they were struck by an alleged drunk driver.
His 5-year-old daughter, Lennyn, had to be taken off life support a week later.
“I’m here broken. Heart hurts. Just staring at the window outside, trying to see my angel in the sky,” said Lilic.
Lennyn loved her older brother, going out to eat at restaurants, and keeping her family up late with her energy.
“She made my day every day. She was an awesome little girl,” Lilic said.
Lilic had big plans for his family of three. He was saving up money to buy a home and a trip to Disneyland.
“I worked so hard for those kids. Day and night,” he said. “Tried to give them the best life and did give them the best life, and I could’ve gave them more if I had a chance for her.”
His pain is a hurt the family of 13-year-old Eli Mitchell understands.
“We actually both cried that night, the first time we saw that story,” said Eli’s grandfather, Glendon Mitchell.
Eli was hit and killed by a drunk driver in April 2022.
On Monday, the Mitchell family will speak before a committee about a bill to change sentencing guidelines for certain DUI offenses.
“The bill would establish a five-year minimum sentence to 15 [years]. It’d still be an indeterminate system, which Utah has for sentencing, but the base of that would be five years minimum,” he explained.
Glendon is supporting a handful of other DUI-related bills this legislative session.
“We believe our grandson Eli’s death was preventable. We think many of these deaths are preventable,” he said.
Lilic believes his daughter’s death also could’ve been prevented.
“Waste the extra money for the Uber. Call a friend that’s sober. Call a family member. Anything that’ll get you home and safe and keep other families safe that don’t know what’s coming at them,” he said.
Lilic is also searching for the man who stopped to help them after they were hit. He wants to get in touch with him and thank him personally.
A family member created a GoFundMe, which can be found here.
