Results tagged “leandraslaw”

Yesterday, Carmen Huertas appeared in court for the first time since overturning her car, injuring herself and her many young passengers (including her daughter), and killing her daughter's 11-year-old friend in October. Huertas, who faces vehicular manslaughter and DWI charges, had only appeared via a video link when she was initially charged, because she was still recovering from her injuries. Her lawyer said she remains a psychiatric ward and wants to kill herself, "She's tried to place objects around her neck," adding that she's an "emotional wreck."

Though Governor Paterson signed the nation's toughest DWI bill into law this week, making it a felony to drive drunk with a passenger under age 15, it won't apply to one man who allegedly broke it yesterday. Suffolk County police arrested Ivan Llaghza for DWI and endangering the welfare of a child, because his 5-year-old daughter was also in the car—and not in a car seat, as required by law. The Daily News notes the new law "doesn't take effect until next month," adding that Llaghza's daughter "survived two brushes with death" before—her birth weight was 1.5 pounds and "when she was just 3 months old, she was almost killed by loss of oxygen during an apnea attack."

Something crazy happened in Albany this week: The Assembly passed a bill, then the Senate passed their version of the bill, and then Governor David Paterson signed it into law—all in two days! Yesterday New York instituted the nation's toughest drunk driving law, making it a felony to drive intoxicated with a passenger 15 years old or under. The bill, "Leandra's Law," was named for the 11-year-old New York girl killed in a DWI crash on the West Side Highway last month. At the signing yesterday, Leandra's father Lenny Rosado vowed to take his crusade to Washington and pass the law on the federal level:

From here on, those that think it’s OK to drink and drive - with children in the car or not - will pay the price...This is not going to be where I stop. I'm going to go out there to as many people as I can and educate them about this terrible disease we have out there...and hopefully we can take it all the way up straight to the White House.

Bowing to pressure from families of drunk driving victims, state Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver has thrown his support behind a bill that would make it a felony to drive with a blood alcohol content of .08 while a passenger 15 years old or under is in the car. The legislation is named for 11-year-old Leandra Rosado, who recently died in a crash on the Henry Hudson Parkway while riding with her friend's allegedly drunk mother.

Governor Paterson will ask legislators to pass "Leandra's Law," which would make driving drunk with a passenger under 16 a felony. Last month, 11-year-old Leandra Rosado was killed when her friend's allegedly drunk mother crashed on the West Side Highway. Governor Paterson's spokeswoman said, "Gov. Paterson is committed to stricter penalties for drunk drivers with children in the car, which is why he introduced a program bill on this issue on Aug. 13." The Daily News notes, "Though Paterson announced the bill in August, no one in the Legislature has even introduced it."