The family of Sarah Root filed a formal complaint against a Douglas County judge at the Nebraska Supreme Court Monday.
In January, Eswin Mejia, an illegal immigrant, was accused of drunk speed racing and causing a deadly crash.
The family claims Judge Jeffrey Marcuzzo of setting Mejia's bond too low at $5,000
Since bailing out, Mejia has been on the run.
For Michelle and Scott Root, their 21-year-old daughter will always be their baby. The Root family says slogans like “Justice for Sarah” and “Sarah Strong” are not meant to be catchy.
“We're going to keep trucking,” Scott Root says. “That was our baby girl. And she deserves justice and she's going get it.”
In their hearts, they say a wrong has to be corrected.
“Eleven weeks, 12 weeks after Sarah was killed another illegal immigrant – drunk driving – hits and kills somebody while walking,” Michelle Root says. “Same judge. Gets a higher bond. I wish they would have done that in Sarah's case. They did not.”
For months, the outspoken family has collected signatures to gain public support in their efforts in understanding what they refer to as "failures" at the local, state and federal levels.
Beginning with Marcuzzo.
“The next gentleman who killed somebody, he got a two million dollar bond. And then the next guy, got a 500-hundred thousand dollar bond,” says Chris Taylor, a cousin of Scott Root. “Really? Somebody made a mistake and now they're trying to overcompensate.”
When it comes to the idea of fighting for the removal of Marcuzzo, the Root family says they have heard people tell them their efforts are in vain.
“If those people have children or loved one who died – be in our shoes. Do that,” he says. “We're not going to sit here and nothing.