Man who lost mother and aunt to Brandy Graff’s drunk driving speaks out

March 18, 2019 11:37 pm

By Jordan Mazza

EAST GREENWICH, R.I. (WLNE) — Wounds are being re-opened for Bruce Mastracchio of East Greenwich.

“I can’t believe she did it,” he said. “Can’t believe she did it again.”

Mastracchio says life for his family has not been the same since he lost his mother and aunt after they were hit by a drunk driver in 2005 in Narragansett.

“I was numb for about five years,” he said. “I was just numb. I was functioning, but kind of just walking through a lot of it. The thoughts kept coming back.”

But now, it’s all coming back again. Brandy Graff, still on probation after years in prison for causing that fatal crash, has been arrested by Providence Police on another DUI charge.

“Nobody wins in a case like this,” Mastracchio said. “I was hoping that she would get through the rest of her life and live a normal life.”

For a while, it almost seemed possible for Graff, who at one point was giving speeches to young people about the dangers of driving drunk.

Mastracchio was doing the same thing. After this latest arrest, he says the lessons did not seem to sink in for Graff.

He says she deserves punishment, but also deserves help.

“I think she should have to serve out the rest of her time – but with help,” Mastracchio said. “Don’t just throw away and forget about it. To me that’s not doing any good.”