Senate delivers justice for Deana; now House must do likewise
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-9 of Middletown, 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.
“There is no word strong enough to describe the life-long pain of outliving your child,” DeRosa said. “I am grateful to the state Senate and especially Sen. Killion for their efforts to pay tribute to Deana by making sure no other family endures the tragedy that we have.”
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 Upper Chichester 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.
That’s when he once again climbed behind the wheel and set off on a deadly path that would forever snuff out the bright, vivacious light that was Deana Eckman.
In August Strowhouer was sentenced to 25 and a half to 50 years in state 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 Strowhouer – or anyone 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 fact that he was out on the street struck a nerve with DeRosa and her husband, Rich.
“Had concurrent sentences not been imposed on the drunk driver who took Deana from us, he would have still been in prison when she was killed,” he said.
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 - also known as CAM or SCRAM for Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitor - in the form of 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.
“Less than a year ago, Deana Eckman was violently and callously murdered by an individual now convicted of his sixth DUI. We are a major step closer to honoring her memory and better protecting Pennsylvanians from the worst of the worst DUI offenders.”
— State Sen. Tom Killion, R-9 of Middletown, on Senate passage of his Senate Bill 773