Senate delivers justice for Deana; so should House

There will be justice for Deana Eckman.

At least if the Pennsylvania Senate has its way.

No, it will not bring the vibrant Brookhaven woman whose life was snuffed out in an instant by a serial DUI driver, but it could perhaps spare another family from suffering the same agony.

The state Senate Tuesday voted, 43-6 to approve a package of bills sponsored by state Sen. Tom Killion, R-9th Dist., to toughen penalties for repeat offenders, and more importantly, make it much more difficult for them to once again climb behind the wheel while impaired.

The bill has been dubbed “Deana’s Law” in honor of Deana Eckman.

It will increase penalties for repeat drunk driving offenders, and implement new technology aimed at alerting law enforcement of possible infractions before a person under the influence can get behind the wheel.

“Less than a year ago, Deana Eckman was violently and callously murdered by an individual now convicted of his sixth DUI,” said Killion Tuesday on Senate passage of his Senate Bill 773. “We are a major step closer to honoring her memory and better protecting Pennsylvanians from the worst of the worst DUI offenders.”

Deana Eckman’s mother, Roseann DeRosa, spoke of the heartbreak her family has endured, and their vow to seek changes in the law as a way of honoring Deana, and preventing the same needless tragedy befall another family.

Her daughter was killed last February by a driver who was under the influence. It was not the first offense for David Strowhouer, who was driving his pickup truck in an erratic manor when he attempted to pass another car on a two-lane stretch of Route 452 in Delaware County and slammed head-on into the vehicle carrying Deana and her husband, Chris. Deana was killed instantly; Chris was seriously injured.

It was Strowhouer’s sixth DUI offense. After being allowed to serve the sentences for his fourth and fifth offenses, concurrently instead of consecutively, he was out on probation.

In August Strowhouer was sentenced to up to 50 years in prison after entering a guilty plea to murder in the third degree, aggravated assault and related offenses stemming from the fatal crash.

Senate Bill 773 would make it much more difficult for someone facing multiple DUI offenses to flout the law and drive a vehicle.

The measure would require anyone convicted of a third DUI offense to serve that time consecutively to previous offenses, not concurrently.

The bill also would boost sentencing guidelines for a fourth and fifth DUI offenses to five to 10, and 10 to 20 years, respectively.

The measure includes several other crucial elements to combat the scourge of the repeat drunk driver, including:

• Requiring continuous alcohol monitoring devices in the form of SCRAM bracelet technology that automatically notifies officials when repeat DUI offenders consume alcohol in violation of court directives;

• Doubling the time period repeat DUI offenders must use ignition interlock devices on their vehicles;

• Directing the Pennsylvania State Police, PennDOT and the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts to formulate recommendations for using DUI Courts around the state. DUI Courts specialize in drunk driving cases to better focus on the appropriate sentencing and treatment of DUI offenders.

The SCRAM technology is an especially effective deterrent that targets something law enforcement officials know all too well: If a person wants to get behind the wheel of a car, there is very little that can be done to stop them.

The SCRAM, worn much like an electronic home monitor, samples a person’s perspiration for the presence of alcohol. If it senses booze in the individual, it can alert police to detain that person before they get behind the wheel.

The measure now moves over to the state House, where it likely will be taken up by the House Transportation Committee. We urge the House to quickly take up Deana’s Law, pass it and send it on to Gov. Tom Wolf.

Feb. 16 will mark one year since Deana Eckman was taken from us. How appropriate it would be if the House moved swiftly and put Deana’s Law on Wolf’s desk for him to sign on that fateful day.