MADISON, Wis. -- Members of a Madison family said that they hope their story of personal tragedy after a loved one was killed by a repeat drunken driver last year will serve as a rallying point for change and boost efforts to enact stricter penalties in Wisconsin.

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The Schmidt family's collection of photos tell just part of Dave Schmidt's story. However, now, Dave Schmidt's wife, his children and grandchildren must fill in the rest of the details.

"He was the kind of person, if you needed help (he was) there to give it to you," said Marion Schmidt, Dave's wife of 52 years.

"You needed something, and he was there," said his son Doug.

Dave Schmidt's 74 years of life took a tragic turn on Aug. 12, 2007. He wasn't a baseball fanatic, but going to the Madison Mallards game that night -- as always -- wasn't about him.

"All of our grandkids like baseball. So when they come to stay, we'd always go down to the Mallards game," said Marion Schmidt.

"He did it because he wanted to give them a good memory," said Rebecca Ladwig, Dave Schmidt's daughter.

After the game, as Dave Schmidt was walking to his home near Warner Park, he was struck by a car. A twice-convicted drunken driver Tammy Blizzard, 45, was behind the wheel and driving down North Sherman Avenue. Blizzard was again intoxicated when she hit Dave Schmidt, authorities said. Moments later, Dave Schmidt was clinging to life.

"(There was) blood all over his head, blood on his hands," said Marion Schmidt.

After the crash, Blizzard simply drove on but was identified by a witness and soon tracked down by police.

For the Schmidt family, their long ordeal had just begun.

"When we got to the hospital, they didn't think he'd live very long," said Marion Schmidt.

"You know he was bloody, and he couldn't see anything," said Doug Schmidt. "(It was) hard to see him, and it hurt."

Thirty-seven agonizing days after the crash, Dave Schmidt died.

"One day it looked like he was responding and then, he's gone," Ladwig said.

For Dave Schmidt's family, an unfillable void remains forever.

Blizzard pleaded no contest, but remains free awaiting her sentence. She was permitted to leave Dane County this past weekend to spend time with her son in Iowa County.

Back in Madison, near their grandfather's garden, Mitchell and Austin Schmidt kicked a ball around. Father's Day this year just wasn't the same, the family said.

"It was just a blah day, a bad day," said Doug Schmidt. "I don't have a dad anymore. She killed him."

"I knew how I was doing, and it wasn't good,'" said Ladwig.

The Schmidt family's experience isn't unique. Wisconsin has a bad reputation in terms of drunken driving. Mothers Against Drunk Driving officials said that 42 percent of all traffic fatalities in the state involve alcohol, with about 305 killed in 2006. MADD ranks Wisconsin worst in the nation for drunken driving.

Officials said that the state's weak laws are a chief cause, and while some state lawmakers have proposed changes, little appears to be done.

"I don't know what law you can change … (to stop) people from doing it," said Marion Schmidt.

Doug Schmidt said that he thinks there's something Wisconsinites and its legislators can do. He said Wisconsin's neighboring states have stricter laws.

"We need to be tough on these people," he said.

By and large, the Schmidts said that they hope something positive can come from their tragedy, and that relentless community pressure and hearing stories like theirs might work to come to solution.

"I don't want to have happen to somebody else what happened to us. All of a sudden, I had this wonderful life. Now, what have I got? Nothing," Marion Schmidt said.

After many recent cases with similarities to the Schmidt case, some lawmakers are pushing to make a third DUI offense a felony. Currently, a DUI offense is no worse than a misdemeanor through the fourth incident.

Blizzard faces up to 25 years in prison. The Schmidts said that they hope a stiffer sentence will send an additional message to drunken drivers and perhaps give them some closure.

On Sunday at the Mallards game, two of Dave Schmidt's grandsons will throw out the ceremonial first pitch in his honor.