Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney has announced the appointment of Assistant District Attorney Stephanie Dellinger as the New York State Traffic Safety Resource Prosecutor (TSRP). Dellinger will serve as a resource and expert in the prosecution of motor vehicle offenses to other prosecutors and law enforcement agencies in New York’s downstate region which covers all of Long Island, New York City, and the lower Hudson Valley.
Prior to her appointment as the TSRP, Dellinger was a prosecutor in Nassau County since 2008. While there, she spent over a decade prosecuting vehicular crimes including multiple high- profile cases where individuals had been seriously injured or killed by drunk, drug impaired, or reckless drivers. ADA Dellinger rose through the ranks and was promoted to numerous supervisory positions including Deputy Bureau Chief of their misdemeanor DWI Unit, and later as the Deputy Bureau Chief of their felony Vehicular Crimes Bureau.
In addition to hosting one of the three State Traffic Safety Resource Prosecutors in New York State, District Attorney Tierney has collaborated with Senate Sponsor John Mannion and former Assembly Transportation Committee Chair Bill Magnarelli to lead a bipartisan effort close the loopholes by creating the Senate Bill S.3135 and Assembly Bill A.174, also known as the “Deadly Driving Bill.” This bill closes a current state law loophole that does not allow an individual to be arrested and prosecuted for operating a vehicle while drugged, unless the officer can first pinpoint to the exact drug that driver is impaired by, and then that drug must be listed Section 3306 of the Public Health Law.
In January, Tierney rallied on the steps of the capital in Albany with a bipartisan group of local and state officials, traffic safety advocates, and families and friends of those affected by drunk and drugged driving, and called on lawmakers to pass the Deadly Driving Bill.
In May, Tierney rallied with Bronx District Attorney Darcel D. Clark and Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz and other elected officials, families of victims, and advocates, calling for the passage of the bill. Other District Attorneys throughout New York State have voiced support for this bill including Brooklyn District Attorney Eric Gonzalez, Acting Erie County District Attorney Michael J. Keane, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr., Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly, and Staten Island District Attorney Michael E. McMahon.
Other efforts the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office has made to improve safety on our roadways and reduce injuries and fatalities from vehicular collisions include recording radio public service announcements with State Senator Dean Murray and Suffolk County Sheriff Errol D. Toulon Jr., and providing the “Choices & Consequences” Program to school districts and other youth groups where Assistant District Attorneys discuss the real life consequences of driving recklessly or while impaired by drugs or alcohol.
The New York State Traffic Safety Resource Prosecutor Program, under the administration of the New York State District Attorneys Association and funded by the New York State Governor’s Traffic Safety Committee, coordinates statewide efforts to combat vehicular crimes with a particular focus on improving traffic safety and enhancing the prosecution of impaired driving.
“It is an honor that Suffolk County was selected as a host county for this statewide driver safety initiative, and we are also extremely fortunate to have recruited such a talented prosecutor to this highly prestigious position,” Tierney said. “Hosting the downstate Traffic Safety Resource Prosecutor is only one of many steps that my office has taken to reduce the epidemic of vehicular related injuries and deaths statewide. We continue to push for the passage of the bipartisan ‘Deadly Driving Bill,’ which has been stalled in the state legislature. Our state representatives need to stop playing politics and actually do the job that they were elected to do – pass common sense laws to make New Yorkers’ lives safer.”