Unlikely Allies Campaign Against DUI

Sept. 28, 2004 -- The idea of befriending the person responsible for a loved one's death might sound outrageous — but that was the approach taken by a Michigan woman whose brother was killed by a drunken driver.

Julie Attard said she wanted something positive to come from the loss of her brother, who died 3 ½ years ago when his motorcycle was hit by a car. That car was driven by Emily Coombs, who admits she was drunk at the time.

But Attard and Coombs are not enemies. They forged a friendship out of the tragedy and are now campaigning to combat drunken driving.

A Family’s Loss

Attard's brother, Kevin Perry, was a maintenance worker and a devoted single father of four. On Dec.5, 2001, he kissed his children goodnight and took off on his motorcycle to answer a routine call to fix an indoor swimming pool.

He never made it. Perry was struck by Coombs' car. He suffered multiple injuries and was pronounced dead the next day, just a few months shy of his 40th birthday.

Coombs told ABC News' Good Morning America the accident occurred after a night out spent bowling and drinking with friends. She said she didn't see the motorcyclist as he was dressed in dark colors, and it was 11:30 p.m. so the road was also darkened.

"I left the bowling alley and I was intoxicated and I struck and hit Kevin," said Coombs.

Coombs had alcohol in her system and admits that at the time her problem with drinking was "progressively getting worse." She said when she realized she had hit someone it was "horrible."

Coombs was later sentenced to nine months in prison for the fatal accident. She served six months.

An Offer of Friendship

While grieving for her brother's death, Attard would find an unlikely friend.

Attard and Coombs regularly attended the same 16,000-member church. Coombs went to a service two days before her sentencing for what would be a rare encounter.