Child's death prompts Senate to pass new bill

Local News

Discussion

PLEASE NOTE: There is a 150 word maximum for comments. All comments greater than 150 words in length will be deleted in their entirety.

ALSO NOTE: Derisive name-calling of an individual or group will result in the entire comment being deleted. This includes the terms "stupid" and "idiot" and similar references.

Welcome to our new online comments feature. Before you can join the discussion, you must first register with Disqus and verify your email address.

Once you do, your comments will post after they have been reviewed by a moderator.

We welcome your thoughts and your opinions, including unpopular ones. We ask only that you keep the conversation civil and clean.

Not all comments are deemed printable. Some are disqualified, at the newspaper’s discretion, for a number of reasons. Here are some typical practices to avoid in trying to get your comment printed:

There is a 150 word maximum for comments. All comments greater than 150 words in length will be deleted in their entirety.

Don’t state as a fact something that is unsubstantiated or that our editors wouldn't know to be true.

Don’t presume someone’s guilt in a case when it hasn't been established by a court.

Don’t assail or impugn an identifiable individual or group. If you have that kind of criticism, sign your name and submit it as a Letter to the Editor. (There is some leeway on this in connection with public officials, but it is not unconditional.)

Don’t use profanity. This includes the term “tea bagger.”

Don’t be incendiary or tasteless. Those qualities are subjective, of course, and our editors will be the arbiters.

Do not identify yourself in the main content area of the article content form. Only by enforcing this rule can the moderators prevent unscrupulous commenters from falsely identifying themselves as someone they are not.

Don't type in all caps. It is considered the Internet equivalent of shouting.

In sports articles, do not criticize officiating.

Remember, moderators are not allowed to edit any article comments. If an article comment fails any of the above criteria, the entire comment will be deleted.

We monitor comments Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday, 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. Approval of comments outside these times may be delayed.

comments powered by Disqus

February 9, 2012

â Targets licensed drivers under the influence supervising another at wheel

REBECCA WEBSTER Press-Republican The Press Republican Thu Feb 09, 2012, 02:28 AM EST

PLATTSBURGH — A bill passed in the New York State Senate could mean new penalties for those under the influence caught supervising other drivers.

The bill, known as Abbagail's Law, would make it a crime for a licensed driver to coerce another person to take the wheel for him or her. It is now in the hands of the Assembly.

Sponsored by Sen. George Maziarz, the bill is named after 8-year-old Abbagail Buzard, a western New York girl who was killed in a car accident caused by an inexperienced driver who was being supervised by a parent under the influence.

Abbagail was at a family gathering in September 2009 with her father, Corey Buzard, who had been drinking heavily. Wanting to go to the store for more beer, he got Abbagail's 17-year-old cousin — with a learner's permit — to drive his car.

Abbagail was sitting on the lap of one of three other children in the back seat.

The cousin was operating the vehicle at unsafe speeds and lost control. The 8-year-old was thrown from the car when it rolled down an embankment, trapping her underneath and killing her.

Under current law, neither the driver or the father could be charged according to the circumstances of her death.

'TRAGIC DEATH'

Maziarz told the Press-Republican that the district attorney serving that area had been perplexed over that.

The charges brought against the father were not serious because he hadn't been behind the wheel.

"It's a very unusual circumstance, but they were not able to charge him. His little girl died for nothing," Maziarz said. "What I see is a loophole."

The bill passed with just one dissenting vote in the Senate.

"People who are supervising unlicensed drivers have the same crucial responsibility to be fully aware and capable of operating a vehicle as the driver," Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos said in the press release.

"The tragic death of Abbagail Buzard demonstrated that new protections are needed to prevent supervising drivers from being impaired by alcohol or drugs and to hold violators accountable for their actions."

"This basically holds a supervising driver accountable," Maziarz said. "The circumstance don't happen often, but maybe in the future, if somebody is at a party, they're going to think twice ... The (17)-year-old has to live with this for the rest of their life."

If Abbagail's Law is made law, a misdemeanor would be charged to a person with a blood-alcohol concentration lower than 0.18 percent who is supervising a driver.

It would be a felony offense for someone with an 0.18 percent blood-alcohol concentration.

Email Rebecca Webster at: rwebster@pressrepublican.com