County Exec. Asks: ‘When Did State Lose Its Way?’
By Hank Russell
Common sense — that was the recurring theme at a press conference that was held at the H. Lee Dennison Building in Hauppauge on April 18. Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine and District Attorney Ray Tierney urged state legislators to toughen the laws when it comes to drugged driving.
Speaking in front of county and state legislators, victims and their family members and advocates, Tierney and Romaine explained how this makes common sense, in that it will close loopholes and take these dangerous drivers off the roads and it would be sensible for the state to make this bill law.
As previously reported in Long Island Life & Politics, state and county officials called again to pass legislation that would remove “dangerous” and “outdated” loopholes when arresting someone who drove under the influence of drugs. Some have also demanded that the governor incorporate it into the state budget.
Both Governor Kathy Hochul’s proposal and the “Deadly Driving Bill” (S.5457 and A.3981), introduced by state Senator Leroy Comrie (D-St. Albans) and Assemblyman William Magnarelli (D-Syracuse), respectively, seek to make New York’s drugged driving laws applicable to all dangerously impaired drivers — not just those impaired by drugs on a statutory list, LILP previously reported. Both bills have been referred to the Transportation Committee.
New York is one of only four states that limits drugged driving to such a list, said Romaine. “That means, if [the driver] takes a drug and that’s not on the list, they can escape culpability,” he said. Romaine also said that there are 150 highway fatalities in Suffolk each year; one-third are the result of either drugged or distracted driving.
Romaine said he is amazed on how frequent distracted driving is. “I’m watching people driving and they’re looking at their cell phones,” he said, adding it makes “a one- to two-second difference” in causing a crash. “All drivers should focus on the road.”
“This is getting to be pretty old,” Tierney said, referring to the constant pleas to Albany to close the drugged driving loophole. He called the current law “a ridiculous law.”
Suffolk County Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina said the officers’ ability to arrest drivers under the influence of drugs is “severely limited by a broken system.” Suffolk Presiding Officer Kevin McCaffrey (R-Lindenhurst) said that the proposed bill is “commonsense” legislation, adding that “people should be outraged” that not all drugged drivers are being arrested.
Tierney emphasized that they are looking to make changes in existing laws, not create new policy. “We’re not trying to recreate the wheel,” he said. “We’re just trying to improve upon it. … There’s a lot of misinformation from Albany that we are trying to change everything.”
Those who were victimized by drugged driving and their family members also spoke. Devoneé Vanderveer, who is in a wheelchair and both legs amputated in a crash, said the driver who hit her was driving at 80 miles per hour on the Sagtikos Parkway. His blood alcohol content was “three times above” the legal limit, according to Vanderveer. She promised that she will “be at every event until the bill is passed.”
Andrea Carpenter, whose son Tim was killed in a crash in Centereach when a driver was “high on fentanyl” hit her son. His brother, Stacy Carpenter, who was in the car with Tim, suffered serious injuries. She called that day when her son died — March 19, 2023 — as “the worst day of my life.”
Alisa McMorris recalled losing her son Andrew when he was struck by a drunk driver as he was walking down the road with his fellow Boy Scouts. “It’s been six-and-a-half-years [since Andrew’s death],” she said. “There is a hole in my heart the size of Andrew. … This is a nightmare that will always be seared into my brain.”
After hearing the families speak, Romaine asked, “When did the state lose its way?”
State Senator Dean Murray replied, “You want to know when the state lost its way? 2019, when they passed bail reform and discovery laws, and they do that for protection. If they pass a bad law, they would say there’s nothing they could do. … They do it for cover.”
Assemblywoman Rebecca Kassay (D-Port Jefferson) said she also supports closing the drugged driving loophole. “This should not be a partisan issue,” she said. “This [bill] should have moved already [out of committee].”
Tierney thanked the local politicians for coming, calling them for “standing with us,” adding, “They want to be catalysts for change, not only in the county, but for our state.”
“We can start by letting [offenders behind the wheel] that there are consequences for those who create pain, sorrow and misery,” Romaine added. “We hope common sense will prevail.”