NY Post: Parents of kids killed by drunk or drugged-up drivers join NY law enforcement in push to close legal loophole

By Kevin Sheehan and Steve Janoski - Link to Original Article

November 20, 2023

Parents whose kids were killed by drunk or drugged-up drivers joined Long Island law enforcement Monday to push for a state law that would allow cops to crack down on dangerous, impaired motorists.

The proposal — dubbed the “Deadly Driving Bill” — is necessary because cops in New York state currently can only arrest drugged drivers if they are under the influence of a controlled substance named on a public health list, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney said.

This lets many off the hook — such as those impaired by unlisted drugs like Rohypnol and xylazine, the flesh-rotting “zombie” drug commonly known by its street name “tranq,” Tierney said at a Monday morning press conference.

“When drivers use these drugs and drive while impaired … endangering everyone around them, they cannot be charged with drugged driving or anything else under the current state of our law because those drugs simply aren’t on this public health law list,” the district attorney said.

“That’s wrong … [and] it makes no sense,” he continued. “The law doesn’t require police or troopers to name a specific type of alcohol that is impairing a driver … Is it beer? Is it rum? Is it gin? That’s not required under the law.”

Vctims’ inconsolable family members were on-hand to hammer the point home — which they did in sorrowful, tear-jerking fashion.

“The monster who murdered my son was almost 40 years old, driving under the influence of fentanyl,” said Andrea Carpenter, whose 22-year-old son, Timothy, was killed in Centereach, Long Island, in March when an addict drifted across three lanes of traffic and struck the car in which he was riding.

“That addict was driving a big, heavy truck,” she continued. “They had no chance … We don’t even think he hit the brakes.”

But she noted that the driver — Christopher Guzman, 39, of Farmingdale, who survived the wreck with a minor cut — had an extensive drug history and had overdosed several times, including during the weeks just before the accident.

“With the law the way it is today, even if this addict had been stopped by law enforcement immediately before the crash, he could not be charged with drugged driving because the police would not have been able to name the drug that was making him so high and so dangerous,” Carpenter said.

“And that’s insane.”

Guzman was later indicted for aggravated vehicular homicide, manslaughter, vehicular manslaughter and other charges.

He died in September — the culmination of yet another overdose, Carpenter said.

“We never got justice for our son in court,” she lamented, as her husband, Tim, wept beside her.

The bill — which enjoys bipartisan support — is currently in the State Senate’s transportation committee, according to the legislature’s website.

Others were more forceful, and called out state lawmakers for not already passing the measure.

“Albany! You got to do your job!” Nassau County’s police commissioner, Patrick J. Ryder, said at the press conference.

“We’re asking a simple change, a simple change in the law,” he continued. “This is not a heavy lift! God knows you’ve written enough laws for the bad guy! Now you need to write one and stand by our victims … who have lost their families.”

“Do the right thing by the victims,” he added. “Thank you.”