Mother seeks justice for daughter killed by drunk driver

Posted by Hannah John | May 25, 2022 | News |

GALLUP

Raven Livingston was 25 when her life was cut short on Dec. 30, 2017, by a drunk driver.

Raven had left home to go to the movies when the accident occurred.

Raven’s mother, Jeulina Livingston, was not alerted of her daughter’s death until a day after the accident.

“They charged the drunk driver, but the drunk driver never went to jail,” Livingston said. “To this day, he’s still out there, and he never went to jail.”

Almost five years later, Jeulina Livingston is still seeking justice for her daughter as the driver has faced no consequences.

Livingston said Raven’s case has gone through many attorneys over the last few years, and nothing has happened.

“She (attorney on Raven’s case as of a year ago) called me and said she was going to file the case within a week, which it didn’t happen again,” Livingston said.

One of the things needed by Livingston was a reconstructive report. She said she turned this into the attorney and other documents required, but a case was still not filed.

The case was finally filed in August or September of 2021, said Livingston.

After this, the attorney set up a preliminary hearing, but Livingston was not notified. The hearing was held in January.

“They never notified me, nothing,” Livingston said. “They didn’t write me, they didn’t call me, so they did the preliminary hearing without me.”

Livingston was unaware the hearing had happened until she began searching for someone to help her bring awareness to Raven’s case. A reporter with KOB-TV alerted her of the hearing.

“He (the reporter) said, ‘I think they already had the preliminary hearing,’” Livingston said. “I said, ‘What? No, they didn’t because they haven’t called me, haven’t tell me, they never reached out to me.’”

Livingston was provided with the paperwork to read through what was said during the hearing, and this is when she found out Raven’s case was dismissed.

Livingston went to the district court with the new information, and her attorney told her that the case was indeed dismissed. Her attorney then told Livingston she would refile the case.
“I don’t know how long it’s going to take again,” Livingston said.

Livingston does not know what to do anymore when it comes to getting justice for Raven.

“I don’t know what to do at times,” she said. “I don’t know if I should continue on with nothing being done, or is she going to refile, I don’t know.”