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March 2, 2022
The Tennessee House of Representatives has passed a bill that would require people convicted of driving under the influence to pay child support if they caused a wreck resulting in the death of a parent of a minor child.
House Bill 1834 would apply to people convicted of vehicular homicide or aggravated vehicular homicide because of intoxication when the person killed is the parent of a child under 18. The money would have to be paid to a surviving spouse or guardian until the children reach the age of 18 or graduate from high school.
A sentencing judge would set the amount of the payments, taking into account the child’s financial needs, the financial resources of the guardian, and the standard of living to which the child is accustomed.
Defendants who are in prison and can’t pay will have one year after release to start their payments, the legislature webpage says. If a child reaches 18 and hasn’t been paid in full, the defendant will have to make payments until the payments are complete.
The idea for the law came from Cecilia Williams, whose son, daughter-in-law, and grandson were killed in a wreck involving a drunk driver, TV station WTVC reported.
The wreck on April 13, 2021, in Missouri killed Cordell Williams, 30; his wife Lacey, 25; and their 4-month-old son, Cordell II. The legislation is called “Bentley’s Law,” after one of Williams’ surviving grandchildren. The other surviving child is Lacey.
Cecilia William’s cousin, Diane Sutton, lives in Tennessee and promoted the idea in her state, WTVC said.
Lawyer Jay Kennamer of Chattanooga said it might be difficult to collect the money because defendants may not have the means to pay the child support. However, he thinks the bill imposes a fair punishment.
“If you go out and drive drunk and kill someone in a wreck as a result of the intoxication, it’s a foreseeable damage, that you’ve not only affected them, you’ve affected their whole family,” he says.
Williams said, “They will always remember, this is what I did to the family, you know, and it will sink into them. I can’t do this again. You know, I’m supporting children that aren’t mine.”
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