By Derek Spellman
dspellman@joplinglobe.com
An Oklahoma lawmaker plans to champion legislation stiffening punishments for drunken drivers in honor of a man who was killed in an alcohol-related accident last year in Noel.
The proposed legislation would be named after the late Aaron Gillming, of Collinsville, Okla. Gillming and John Lackey, also of Collinsville, were killed while riding in a vehicle with Ricky Crase on Aug. 31, 2008.
Crase had already accumulated several convictions for drunken driving, all in Oklahoma, before he crashed his pickup truck on the Yarnell Branch bridge on Missouri Highway 90 in Noel. Crase was drunk during that accident and was sentenced to 15 years in prison last month in McDonald County Circuit Court.
Gillming’s mother, Brenda Montgomery, of Owasso, Okla., had panned the Oklahoma courts for the way Crase’s previous cases had been handled.
“The state of Oklahoma needs this for our safety,” Montgomery said Tuesday, asserting that many offenders receive “slight” punishments.
“It’s the worst thing in the world when you lose your child,” she said.
Last month, she made contact with her state representative, David Derby, R-Owasso, who said he would introduce legislation next year that would step up fines and other penalties for drunken drivers.
Derby on Tuesday said his legislation would call for penalties for the first offense to be raised to up to three years in prison. The punishment for a second offense and thereafter would be raised to up to 10 years in prison, while anyone who kills anyone as a drunken driver could face charges up to those for first-degree murder, Derby said.
Asked about the murder charge as opposed to manslaughter, Derby countered that a drunken driver has made a choice that ultimately leads to someone else’s death.
“You were given the privilege to drive,” Derby said. “It’s not a right. With that privilege, you have a responsibility.”
Currently, a first-time drunken driver in Oklahoma faces up to one year in jail. An offender convicted a second time within 10 years of the previous incident faces up to five years in prison. Third-time and thereafter offenses each carry up to 10 years in prison.
Derby also said his legislation would increase the fines people have to pay and stiffen the penalties when it comes to the suspension or revocation of driver licenses.
Derby said he has not lost a family member to a drunken driver, although he saw a number of cases while previously working in the forensic laboratory of the Missouri State Highway Patrol.
“I just know the statistics are overwhelming,” he said of drunken driver accidents in Oklahoma.
Derby said he would introduce his legislation during the Oklahoma Legislature’s next session, which begins in early February and goes through late May.
Background
According to court documents, Ricky Crase has four previous convictions for driving under the influence of alcohol between 1988 and 2007, all in Oklahoma. Crase also pleaded guilty to second-degree arson in March 2007 in Tulsa County, Okla. He initially was assessed a deferred sentence on the arson charge, and Tulsa County prosecutors moved to revoke his probation in July 2008. Crase was free on bond at the time of the August accident, and two months later was assessed a five-year prison sentence.
Local News
<img src="http://www.joplinglobeonline.com/images/zope/extra.gif" border=0>Oklahoma lawmaker cites Noel crash in push for tougher DUI regulations<font color="#ff0000"> w/ Brenda Montgomery video</font>
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