The family of a man who died after a suspected drunk driving accident has launched a petition to reform state drunk driving laws.

Patrick Haden was involved in a car crash with a suspected drunk driver on August 28, 2015. He died in the hospital seven weeks later. Haden was 51 at the time. His 52nd birthday would have been March 7, 2016. Haden’s wife, Alexis, and a friend, survived the crash with minor injuries.

The man believed to be driving the other car, Carlos Nevarez, 31, had three prior DWI arrests before the crash involving Haden. Nevarez was arrested at the scene of the August accident and charged with intoxication assault. He posted bond two days later.

An indictment against Nevarez for Intoxicated Manslaughter with a Vehicle was filed in November.

Haden’s brother, Guy, said the almost 200 days since the crash have been tough for the family.

“They’ve been awful. They’ve been hard to deal with. Don’t get any good night’s sleep. It’s been a very bad experience for my family,” Guy said. “Just feel like it’s been drug out way too long.”

“They [the defense] said they needed more time. That was January 10th, which was 90 days after [Haden] passed away. They determined then that they needed more time. Okay, the judge allowed more time. They gave him 56 more days, which was last Thursday March 10th. Again, the lawyers said they need more time. They’ve known the offer that was on the table for months. It’s a cut and dry case. It’s black and white,” Guy explained.

“As a family, we would be much more comfortable if this was being taken care of. We just feel like this is more drawn out than it needs to be. We understand that the court system takes more time. But this is bordering on ridiculous,” Haden’s niece Alyssa said.

“There have to be stricter laws, in our opinion. This has just put our family through so much,” she added.

“What we would like to see is that anybody that’s had repeat offenses have to complete a rehab program, possibly wear an ankle monitor, and not get their license back until they are able to prove that they are rehabilitated,” she added.

“Every time they drag it out to a new date, my family has to go through this again. Every time,” Guy said through tears.

“What he’s done can’t be undone,” Guy said. “We just want to get him off the streets because he has proven time and time again that he won’t stop. We don’t want him to do this to some other family.”

“We had no idea what an epidemic this was until it happened to us. And we don’t want that to happen to everybody else,” Alyssa explained.

“We cannot be quiet. Not only for Patrick, but for other people,” she said.

“We’re trying to tell people how real this is,” Guy explained. “Our system is broken, and I’d like the people to know how broken it is.”

To read the Haden family’s petition that calls on lawmakers to tighten drunk driver laws in Texas, click here.

The Haden family has launched a GoFundMe page, which can be accessed by clicking here.

EverythingLubbock.com contacted Nevarez’s legal team for a response. His attorney was unreachable for comment Monday.