Vermont Crash Victim’s Supporters Lobby for Stiffer DUI Laws

Wearing blue T-shirts in his memory, several hundred Franklin County residents descended on the Vermont Statehouse in Montpelier on Tuesday to remember a crash victim and call for stiffer laws for drunken drivers.

Nicholas Fournier, 18, died Nov. 17 when the car he was riding in was struck by one driven by a drunken driver with three previous convictions, police said.

To raise awareness, Franklin County declared Tuesday “Nick’s Day.”

About 80 students from Missisquoi Union High School, along with Fournier’s family and friends, filled the galleries of the House chamber and met with Gov. Jim Douglas and Brian Dubie, to present petitions calling for tougher laws.