Tough DUI bill advances in House

Repeat DUI offenders who cause fatal accidents will do more time if a bill moving through the Legislature becomes law.

SB7 increases the penalty for a DUI-related automobile homicide from a third- to a second-degree felony, if the convicted party has a prior DUI offense. The stiffer penalty increases the maximum time behind bars by 10 years. The maximum penalty for a third-degree felony is five years.

Members of the House Law Enforcement Committee unanimously passed the bill, in a substitute form, Friday.

The original bill, sponsored by Sen. Carlene Walker, R-Salt Lake City, was intended to exclusively address the problem of those who drive negligently — and kill — under the influence of illegal drugs.

But questions from legislators about possible court challenges, based on the lack of testing on the level of impairment caused by illegal drugs, forced Walker to consider a substitute bill that imposes the increased penalties for only alcohol-related fatalities.

Both Walker and Rep. Peggy Wallace, R-West Jordan, who offered the substitute, were disappointed to have to abandon the original bill but said it will still address an important issue of DUI-related deaths.

Of the 292 Utah traffic fatalities in 2002, 68 of those were DUI-related, according to statistics from the Utah Highway Patrol. Still, the state has one of the lowest DUI death rates.

"It's a huge problem. I cannot imagine why we've let it go for so long," said Wallace. "I will work very hard to get this bill passed on the floor as it is, but I also committed to Sen. Walker in committee that I will do everything I can to help her get the drug enhancement put into it."

Prosecutors will not likely be disappointed if SB7 becomes law without the provisions for drugs. Many drunken drivers charged with automobile homicide have multiple DUI convictions in their past.

Alfred Tuckey, for example, had two prior guilty pleas to drunken driving when he caused the Sept. 16, 2001, accident that killed 18-year-old Joshua Daniel Warren. Tuckey was sentenced in October to zero to five years in prison. Jeffrey Donald Ireland is doing a similar sentence for the Nov. 3, 2001 accident that killed Angel Garcia, 19. Ireland was a repeat offender with a history of drug- and alcohol-related offenses dating to 1986.

"A felony is not a guarantee of prison; however, the degree of felony certainly gets the judges and the board of pardons attention," Deputy Salt Lake District Attorney Kent Morgan said. "When somebody has committed multiple DUIs, it's clearly a serious offense that calls for serious sanctions."

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Contributing: Angie Welling

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E-MAIL: jdobner@desnews.com