NY DWI offenders now face toughest penalties in nation
By John Purcell
Gov. David A. Paterson signs Leandra’s Law last Wednesday as lawmakers and Lenny Rosado, second from left, looks on. Rosado held a picture of his daughter Leandra who the law is named for. The girl was killed in a drunk driving accident by a mother who was driving several children to a slumber party. Photo by Elyse Mickalonis, Gazette photo.
November 23, 2009
Not only will drunk drivers who have a child passenger face more stringent penalties, but all convicted DWI offenders will also face stricter punishments under a new law Gov. David A. Paterson signed last Wednesday.
The bill (A.40008/S.66008, Governor's Program Bill 204) known as "Leandra's Law" is aimed at preventing the death of child passengers, anyone 15 years old or younger, due to the driver being intoxicated. Leandra Rosado was an 11-year-old who died in a drunk driving accident.
In October, Leandra was a passenger in a vehicle being driven by the mother of another girl. The 31-year-old woman was drunk and flipped her car over on the Henry Hudson Parkway.
"On the night of Oct. 11, I lost my only child — as a single parent she was my heart, my soul and my best friend," said Leandra's father, Lenny Rosado, as his eyes began to swell with tears at Paterson's bill-signing event. "And the day after I made the decision that I don't want to see no parent or grandparent lose their child the way I lost my child to someone who is very reckless and negligent in driving off in a vehicle with my daughter and six of her friends."
Sen. Martin Malave Dilan, D-Brooklyn, chair of the Senate Transportation Committee and sponsor of the Senate bill, said in a statement, "The passage of Leandra's Law was a concerted effort in the Senate that broke through political barriers for the good of all New York families."
This legislation increases penalties for driving drunk with a child passenger from a misdemeanor to a Class E felony and increases the maximum jail time from one year in jail to four years. In a case where a DWI causes a serious injury to a child passenger, the legislation increases the offense from a Class E felony to a Class D felony and brings a maximum prison sentence of seven years.
Driving recklessly while intoxicated and causing serious injury to a child passenger will become a Class C felony under the bill and hold a new maximum prison sentence of 15 years. Also, if a death is caused to a child passenger by an intoxicated driver the offense will be a Class B felony with a maximum prison sentence of 25 years — previously the maximum sentence for such a crime was seven years.
Another requirement under the bill is for all convicted DWI offenders to install an ignition interlock device, a breathalyzer tied to a car's ignition system, on top of current penalties.
The device won't let drivers start their vehicle if their blood alcohol content is above the legal limit. If a convicted driver tries to bypass, tamper, or get another person to use the interlock device, they will be committing a crime.
Sarah Longwell, spokeswoman for the American Beverage Institute, is not pleased with the passage of this law, because of the mandate for all DWI offenders to install the ignition interlock device.
"What we oppose is taking away the discretion of judges in these cases of low BAC, first-time offenders," said Longwell. "We want judges to decide if someone is one sip over the legal limit whether or not they should have the ignition interlock."
She said someone is more dangerous while driving and talking on a cell phone than with a BAC of .08, but there is nothing similar to the ignition interlocks for cell phone or texting offenses.
Also, Longwell said, "We don't punish someone going 5 miles over the speed limit the same as someone going 30 miles over the speed limit."
After learning about Paterson signing the bill, Longwell said, "We will be working to convince all states that have low BAC offender mandates to replace them with high BAC and repeat offender mandates."
No lawmakers at the bill signing last Wednesday afternoon though hinted there would be any sign of watering down the new law.
"These are the types of penalties that this state has needed for a long time," said Paterson at the bill signing. "We have now given law enforcement officials the tools they need to keep people that act with such reckless disregard to human life off of the roadways of our state."
The bill passed in the Assembly 130-0 last Tuesday and was passed in the Senate last Wednesday unanimously also, with Gov. Paterson signing the bill later that day.
"I appreciate that everyone got together here, put aside all politics and bonded together as human beings, as parents and grandparents to make sure that we pass this bill and that from here on those that think it is okay to drink and drive with children in the car or not will pay the price," said Rosado.
"What we did today is a no-brainer," said Senator Charles J. Fuschillo, R-Merrick, a co-sponsor and early proponent of the legislation. "It was a common sense approach to protecting the lives of those defenseless kids who are in a car being driven by an irresponsible adult that has no business being and if they violate that law in New York state they are going to be severely punished."
Assemblyman Harvey Weisenberg, D-Long Beach, another early proponent of the bill, who was not able to attend the bill signing said in statement, "This bill is a reminder that too many children have been injured or killed because those who are responsible for protecting them sometimes ignore that commitment. Today, we send a message of deterrence, and if that message is not heeded, the punishment will now fit the crime."
Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb, R-Canandaigua, said during the bill signing that one of the things the state has had trouble dealing with is repeat DWI offenders and he thinks this bill will help solve that problem.
"You know that first person that makes a mistake the first time is one thing, but we really didn't have a real solution to deal with repeat offenders and I think this is where the interlocking device really will come in handy," said Kolb. "I think this is a tough bill, an extremely tough bill, but we have an extremely difficult problem to solve."
Mothers Against Drunk Driving had helped push for this legislation to be passed and was represented at the bill signing.
"Ignition interlocks are a proven technology that allows offenders to still be members of the community," said Michele Fonda, senior program coordinator for the Mothers Against Drunk Driving New York state charter office. "It allows them to drive to work, to school, to their place of worship –– they just can't drive drunk. This law, it can only save lives and we are so happy today."
Senate President Pro Tempore Malcolm A. Smith, D-St. Albans, said, "Clearly when it comes to the level of punishment and protection as being provided under this particular law, New York is leading the way."
Smith continued, "Lenny, I don't know how you stand here. I'm not sure as a father of a 16-year-old if I could be standing here if I had befallen the challenges you have."
Lenny Rosado said passage of this bill is not going to be the end to his fight.
"This is not going to be where I stop," announced Rosado. "I'm going to go out there and reach out to as many people as I can and educate them about the tragic, terrible disease we have out there when it comes to substance abuse of alcohol and drugs and driving under these influences and hopefully we can take it all the way up to the White House."
When Paterson was speaking to reporters after signing the bill, he hinted that there could be addendums to the legislation for wider use of the ignition interlocks in the future.
Paterson also said, "I dare say that everybody felt a spiritual connection to the victims and what we try to do in government, something that you can never count is the lives we save and that is what we are trying to do."
