TBR News Media: Suffolk County D.A. travels to Albany to urge lawmakers to pass ‘Deadly Driving Bill’
Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney continued his two-day rally in Albany today calling on lawmakers, with the District Attorneys Association of the State of New York (DAASNY), to pass a bill that would close the loopholes in the drugged driving law that make it unworkable.
Suffolk Times: Gov. Hochul nixes Grieving Families Act for second time
Gov. Kathy Hochul ended 2023 by vetoing the Grieving Families Act for a second time, which ignited frustration among area families who have lost a loved one in a wrongful death incident and have advocated for years for the bill to be passed.
Newsday: Hochul's veto upsets families seeking to change state's wrongful death statute
Gov. Kathy Hochul vetoed — for the second consecutive year — the Grieving Families act, which had widespread support in both parties and chambers in Albany.
Riverhead Patch: Hochul Vetoes Grieving Families Act For 2nd X In 2 Years: 'A Sad Day'
The news was a blow to families living with staggering loss — efforts to have the Grieving Families Act signed into law by Gov. Kathy Hochul had, once again, been vetoed.
Those advocating for the Grieving Families Act bill said would bring equity to those who have lost loved ones in wrongful death cases.
Pix 11: NY families call on Gov. Hochul to sign Grieving Families Act
Families who have lost loved ones in car accidents and other tragedies are ramping up the pressure on Gov. Kathy Hochul.
They want her to update New York’s more than 150-year-old law governing civil lawsuits — saying this is about more than money
CBS News Albany: Long Island mother advocates for safer driving after losing son to drunk driver
Alisa McMorris smiles when she talks about her son Andrew, who, in his 12 years, found several passions in life.
"My son Andrew was what we call a renaissance man...we believed him to be an old soul," she says. "He lived far beyond his years at 12 years old, he was a painter, artist, musician."
CBS News: Parents of Long Island DWI victims say loophole in state law prevents arrest of some drivers
The day before Thanksgiving is known as "Blackout Wednesday," and law enforcement agencies are warning people who consume drugs or alcohol at gatherings not to drive impaired.
Grieving parents joined the effort Monday on Long Island to push for stricter laws.
NBC News: Police remind drivers to be safe this holiday season
Grieving parents stand with community leaders, the police, and local dignitaries to encourage drivers to be safe this holiday season.
News 12: Officials warn against impaired driving this holiday weekend
Grieving parents who lost their children to drunk and drugged driving stood with law enforcement to beg people not to get behind the wheel impaired this holiday week.
They say while they encourage people to enjoy their Thanksgiving week, they should always have a plan for a sober ride home. Police say they will be stepping up patrols island-wide this week.
Pix 11 News: DWI victims’ families call for stronger drugged driving law in NY
It’s so familiar that most people know it very well: if you drink and drive, the penalties are stiff. If a person who drinks and drives causes a crash, the consequences are severe. However, when it comes to driving while impaired by a substance other than alcohol, the consequences are not as clear in New York State as they are for alcohol DWI.
A group of families that have been directly affected by this situation joined on Monday with law enforcement leaders and others to call for proposed legislation that addresses this situation to be adopted as law.
NY Post: Parents of kids killed by drunk or drugged-up drivers join NY law enforcement in push to close legal loophole
Parents whose kids were killed by drunk or drugged-up drivers joined Long Island law enforcement Monday to push for a state law that would allow cops to crack down on dangerous, impaired motorists.
Newsday: Long Island families of those killed by drugged drivers: Pass 'Deadly Driving' bill
Members of the media joined the Carpenter family, Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney and others as they viewed the two vehicles at the barracks involved in the crash: Guzman's Chevrolet Silverado and Carpenter's Ford Escape, both of which sustained significant damage.
Tierney said state laws allowing prosecutors to bring charges against drugged drivers have dangerous loopholes that endanger the public.
WENY: Lawmakers hear testimony on impaired driving
While on a boy scout hike, in Sep. 2018, 12-year-old Andrew McMorris was struck and killed by a drunk driver. Friday at an Assembly committee hearing on impaired driving, the McMorris family traveled to Albany to tell lawmakers Andrew's story.
District Attorney and McMorris Family Release Statements in Appeal of Boy Scout Drunk Driving Case
It is with great relief that we announce that the NYS Supreme Court District 2 Appellate Division in Brooklyn, upheld the conviction of the defendant in Andrew’s death. The four-judge panel were unanimous in their decision on Wednesday, July 26th, 2023, and ruled that each of the claims is "without merit." Appeal has been denied. There will be no new trial or any reduction in the defendant’s sentence.
Riverhead Patch: 'Justice For Andrew': Appeal Denied For DWI Driver Who Killed LI Scout
It was an emotional day Wednesday for a family shattered by grief as they saw victory in their fight for justice in their son's name: An appeal was denied Wednesday for the driver who was convicted by a jury of driving drunk and killing Boy Scout Andrew McMorris, 12, in a 2018 crash.
Newsday: Conviction upheld in death of Boy Scout Andrew McMorris
A state appeals court has denied a new trial for the Holbrook man convicted of killing Wading River Boy Scout Andrew McMorris and injuring two other teens in a drunken driving crash in Manorville in 2018.
Long Island Patch: Sheriff, Parents Of Boy Killed By Drunk Driver Urge: 'Take The Keys'
Suffolk County Sheriff Errol Toulon teamed up this week with Mothers Against Drunk Driving and the parents of a 12-year-old Boy Scout killed by a drunk driver in 2018 to prevent tragedy during one of the deadliest times of year for motorists.
Riverhead News Review: Suffolk sheriff announces summerlong crackdown on drunk driving
This summer, Andrew McMorris would have been 17 years old.
But the bright-eyed child from Wading River was killed when he was 12 in 2018 after a drunk driver in an SUV plowed into his Boy Scout troop, which was hiking the Greenbelt Trail in Manorville.
“We don’t want what happened to us to happen to anyone else,” his father John McMorris said on Thursday, at a press conference with Suffolk County Sheriff Errol D. Toulon, Jr. and Mothers Against Drunk Driving to spotlight significantly increased, countywide DWI enforcement this summer.
News 12: 3 DWI arrests made along Montauk Highway in Southampton in 2-hour span
A family who knows the pain of drinking and driving stood alongside officials as they made their announcement about patrols on Wednesday.
Alisa McMorris lost her 12-year-old son to a drunk driver in Manorville in 2018.
"Andrew was taken from this Earth too soon, and this is how we move forward, by trying to prevent someone else from going through something so horrible," McMorris says.
LongIsland.com: Suffolk Sheriff Announces Enhanced Summer DWI Enforcement Campaign: Operation Heat
Suffolk County Sheriff Errol D. Toulon, Jr. was recently joined by the McMorris Family and Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) Regional Director Paige Carbone to announce a summer STOP DWI campaign, Operation HEAT, which aims to ramp up already increased efforts that include the highest number of DWI patrols and arrests in recent Sheriff’s Office history.