OLYMPIA, Wash. — State lawmakers are working on a bill this week that would force impaired drivers to provide support to families affected by DUI crashes.
In practice, Senate Bill 5841 would make it so that a driver would have to pay child support if they kill or disable any parents in a DUI crash. Those payments would continue until each year until the child turns 18.
Senate Bill 5841′s sponsor, Democratic Sen. John Lovick, says it’s about holding impaired drivers accountable and preventing family tragedies.
“Drunk driving is not a victimless crime, and we need to ensure that the children whose parents have been killed or disabled by drunk drivers are being cared for,” Lovick says.
Of the 750 people killed in traffic accidents in 2022 in Washington state, half were because of an impaired driver.
“We must take steps to prevent drunk driving, but we also need to address the immense human cost of drunk driving,” Lovick adds.
The bill was passed out of the state Senate last week, and will be introduced in the House on Monday.
Known at the national level as “Melanie’s Law,” it was first passed in Kentucky. It was named in honor of Kentucky Sen. David Yates cousin, Melanie Hull. Hull was disabled and struggling to care for her child after she was hit by a drunk driver in 2022.
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