As District Attorney, Gregory Oakes has prosecuted many cases in his career. Fatal DWI cases like Seth Collier's, hit close to home.

Holding back tears, Oakes explained, "I've lost; I've personally lost family members to drunk drivers. I know what it feels like to sit on that side of the table; to hear answers from prosecutors, from police officers that are quite frankly inadequate."

Oakes said he was on that side of the table as a teenager.

“I was 16 when I lost my aunt. My cousin, he was 10 years old at the time, lost his mom and was an orphan. I've never driven drunk because I've seen it firsthand,” said Oakes.

Former Onondaga County District Attorney Investigator Peter Rauch is now serving a two to six year sentence for hitting and killing Collier. He left the scene. The crash happened after Rauch spent a night out drinking. Oakes feels this case and others highlight the inadequacies in the criminal justice system.

"I look at kids who make stupid decisions every day; whether it's selling drugs, committing burglaries, who get sent to state prison for a significant amount of time when nobody is actually harmed," Oakes added, "We see young people make decisions to possess or sell drugs in cities who get sentences of five, six years."

Oakes said Rauch will be eligible for parole in two years.

"When you can kill a kid in the street and leave him and only get two to six years, it's offensive," Oakes said.

There is currently a state Senate bill in the transportation committee which is now called Seth's Law. It's co-sponsored by Sen. John DeFrancisco. If it becomes law, it would increase penalties for people who leave the scene of a crash where there is serious injury. Oakes also would like to see increase penalties for drunk drivers.

"It's offensive,” Oakes said, “It offends me because there's going to be another Seth Collier. There is another Seth Collier."

Oakes urges anyone who is going to drink, to have a plan. He asks that you utilize a designated driver, cab or ride-hailing services.