HOUSTON -- Although a drunken driver has been temporarily allowed to stop wearing a sign saying he killed a young man, the victim's supporters are rallying to make sure the community remembers the dangers of driving while intoxicated. Some passers-by were hostile to Michael Giacona last weekend when he stood at the site of the crash with a sign reading "I Killed Aaron Coy Pennywell While Driving Drunk." Giacona ran a red light last June and hit 20-year-old Pennywell's vehicle.
It was the first of four Saturdays that Giacona, 39, had been ordered to stand all day at the intersection. He also spent 90 days in jail after the fatal crash, was placed on two years' probation and must wear an ankle-monitoring device, according to court records.
On Friday, Harris County Court-at-Law Judge Michael R. Fields ordered that for his safety, Giacona would stop the public punishment and his sentence would be re-evaluated this week.
Pennywell's relatives and friends gathered Saturday at the intersection, where the victim's smashed black Mustang was displayed to serve as a warning of the dangers of drinking and driving. They said they didn't want people to forget, since Giacona was absent from the site.
"It is just disheartening that he's just going to get a slap on the hand again and walk away," Lisa Dentler told the newspaper.
The victim's mother, Kae Pennywell, said she didn't know the people who had cursed at Giacona the previous weekend.
"The judge put him out there for public humiliation," she said. "He should have expected some of that. But nobody threatened his life."
Pennywell was taping together a medley of signs along the fence of the crash site. One was a large portrait of her son, which the family puts there for holidays and plans to leave on the fence until graduation as a reminder to young drivers, she said.
Locals pitched in their support by making an appearance at the crash site, and many -- including some who don't know the family -- said they planned to return next weekend.
"It could have been one of my kids," said Karon Frigo. "It could have been anyone's kid."
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