Guv backs tougher DWI penalties after Taconic crash

By KEITH HERBERT

Gov. David Paterson is throwing his support behind legislation that would make it a felony to drive while intoxicated with children in the vehicle, which would make New York the 36th state with tougher penalties in such instances.

"Clearly, we have a situation that typified what has been an unaddressed issue within New York State," Paterson said at a news conference Thursday, 18 days after a wrong-way crash on the Taconic State Parkway in which the driver was drunk and eight people died.

Four children aged 8 or younger - all from Long Island - died in the horrific crash.

Paterson said that 35 other states have child endangerment penalty enhancements for drunken driving cases in which an adult drives while intoxicated with a child in the car.

His legislation, like a bill already introduced by state Sen. Charles Fuschillo (R-Merrick), would boost the penalty for the crime to up to 4 years in prison.

With increased penalties, "this will not be treated as if it were just another vehicle violation," the governor said.

Currently, drivers who commit the crime are charged with a misdemeanor and a vehicular violation.

Debbie Weir, chief operating officer of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, said that if the legislation becomes law, driving drunk with children in the car will be treated as "the serious crime that it should be."

"Children have no choice," Weir said. "It's our job to keep them safe."

Fuschillo's bill, which the senator said was in the works before the Taconic Parkway crash on July 26, would make driving drunk with children under 16 a Class E felony punishable with a maximum of one to four years in prison.

Diane Schuler, 36, of West Babylon, was drunk and high when she drove the wrong way on the Taconic with a minivan full of children and plowed head-on into a sport utility vehicle, authorities said. An autopsy showed her blood-alcohol level was more the double the legal limit and that she had used marijuana.

Among the dead were Schuler, her daughter, Erin, 2, and her nieces from Floral Park: Emma Hance, 8, Alyson Hance, 7, and Kate Hance, 5. Schuler's son, Bryan, 5, survived.

Three Yonkers men in the SUV were killed - Guy Bastardi, 49, his father, Michael Bastardi, 81, and their friend Daniel Longo, 74.

In New York State in 2007, there were nearly 9,500 accidents related to drunken driving, with 344 resulting in death. Almost 200 of those killed or injured were under the age of 14.

By By KEITH HERBERT
Posted Thursday, August 13, 2009

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