Deana’s Law must be passed to save lives

There is currently little law enforcement can do if someone is determined to drive while impaired.

A year ago, we acknowledged the one-year anniversary of the death of 45-yearold Deana Eckman of Delaware County at the hands of a serial drunk driver with a plea to the Pennsylvania Legislature to pass a package of bills known as Deana’s Law.

Now we pass the second anniversary of Deana Eckman’s tragic death with the same plea.

Too much time has passed, and more repeat DUI offenders have gotten behind the wheel while Deana’s family and friends persist in the hope that her senseless death will result in laws to prevent families from enduring their anguish.

“I don’t want to see another family go through this,” said Eckman’s mother, Roseann DeRosa, in an interview with the Delaware County Daily Times. “I wouldn’t wish it on my worst enemy. You wake up every morning and it hits you right in the face.”

Eckman, 45, was killed by David Strowhouer in a drunkdriving crash as she and her husband, Chris, were returning home from a family gathering Feb. 16, 2019. Strowhouer’s blood-alcohol level was 0.199 and he had traces of cocaine, diazepam and marijuana in his system at the time. Strowhouer, 32, later pleaded guilty to homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence and related offenses, for which he received a sentence of 25 and a half to 50 years in state prison.

Strowhouer had five prior DUIs on his record and was on probation for a previous offense at the time of the crash. He had pleaded guilty to his third and fourth DUIs in Chester County and was given a sentence of 18 to 36 months in state prison. Later that same month, he pleaded to a fifth DUI before a Delaware County judge who imposed a sentence concurrent to the Chester County sentence.

The fact that Strowhouer was out on the street able to drink and once again climb behind the wheel struck a nerve with Deana’s parents Rich and Roseann DeRosa. The DeRosas have not given up in their effort to see that no other family endures their pain.

Their efforts resulted in legislation championed by former state Sen. Tom Killion of Delaware County — a package of reforms that would increase penalties for multiple DUI offenders and impose the use of continuous alcohol monitoring bracelets statewide for the first time. Named “Deana’s Law,” the bill passed the state Senate in January 2020 but was rejected by the House in November with a vote of 15151 after last-minute opposition from the American Civil Liberties Union and Firearm Owners Against Crime. Killion lost his Senate seat in a bid for re-election in November.

Now, on the second anniversary of Deana’s death, legislation has been revived, this time by state Sen. Bob Mensch, R-24, and state Rep. Chris Quinn, R-168, working with State Rep. Todd Stephens, R-151.

Mensch and Quinn last week jointly introduced new versions of Deana’s Law, both numbered in honor of Deana’s birth month and year, 773.

Mensch’s legislation would increase grading, ensure that consecutive sentences are imposed and require substance monitoring program for repeat DUI offenders.

Quinn’s legislation, House Bill 773, increases penalties for those convicted of third or subsequent DUIs and requires consecutive sentencing for those offenders. Unlike the Senate version, it does not address monitoring devices.

“It was two years on February 16, 2021, that a drunk driver with five prior DUIs, killed our daughter in a horrific crash,” Rich DeRosa said in reaction to the new bills. “Please pass this bill to spare any other family from this living hell.”

One of the things that make DUI drivers so dangerous is that there is little law enforcement can do if someone is determined to drive while impaired. That’s certainly the lesson of the Deana Eckman case.

The hope is that Deana’s Law will help in the effort to keep this scourge off the roads. We urge both the Senate and House to push this legislation through without delay. In the words of Roseann DeRosa: “It’s a bill that’s going to save a life.”