LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — Twenty-two years to the day of her daughter’s death, a mother has a message for drivers across the Las Vegas valley: distracted driving can cause tragedies.
“That distraction can create such a tragedy in someone else’s life– and that’s what happened to us. We’re the ones that have suffered a life sentence,” said Dawn Blinder, who in the years since has advocated for changes in Nevada law and driver safety and awareness.
On September 23, 2004, an SUV ran a stop sign at Hualapai and Desert Inn Road; the vehicle struck Blinder’s family; 7-year-old Debbie Blinder was in the backseat.
Debbie and her brother were rushed to the hospital; on the 24th, Debbie passed away. Her brother was left in critical condition and eventually recovered. Blinder described her daughter as a child who loved learning, and was always eager to perform routines as a gymnast.
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The driver of the vehicle pled guilty to a misdemeanor for failing to stop at a stop sign, received probation, and a $1,000 fine.
Blinder pushed for change in the next Legislative session; in 2005, then-Governor Kenny Guinn signed Assembly Bill 295 into law, allowing drivers to face manslaughter charges for “negligent” driving.
Blinder knows that every life lost is a family tragedy and a family changed forever.
In 2025, 379 people died from crashes on Nevada roads, according to the Nevada Department of Public Safety.
“The fact that it keeps happening and that you really know what it’s like to be on this side of it-and just the pain that they’re going through and the beginning of it is really indescribable,” she said.
Blinder has a message for drivers.
“You’re thinking of what you’re going to make for dinner or you’re distracted by so many things that could be going through your mind. It could be as simple as that. But that distraction can create such a tragedy in someone else’s life,” she said.
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