Stone: Accident Fatalies Should Require Court Appearance

By the time you read this we will be in Annapolis for a special session of the General Assembly, dealing primarily with congressional redistricting. I am certain that there will be some attempts to raise taxes and possibly a few other issues.  

Not too long after the special session ends we will head back to Annapolis for the regular session, at which time we will deal with the legislative redistricting along with a multitude of other House and Senate bills which will be introduced.  

For the last three years I have introduced legislation, which is very close to home, that deals with vehicle accidents resulting in a death. My administrative assistant’s granddaughter was killed in an accident in September 2008. She was in a limousine returning from a bachelorette party. The young lady was scheduled to be married a week later.  

The limo was broadsided by a tractor trailer that had run a red light while making a left turn. This occurred at 2:30 a.m. with no traffic and on a lighted intersection. The driver of the tractor trailer received a ticket for running a red light and was fined $120, which he mailed in.

This was an accident – after an investigation it was determined that the driver was not under the influence of either alcohol or drugs – hence the red light ticket. The incident was treated the same as one in which someone runs a red light and does not cause an accident or a death. The family understandably was very upset that the individual did have to appear in court but merely mailed the fine in.

I have had a number of other concerns presented to me about this same issue. The legislation that I introduced the past couple of years was very simple. Any accident that results in a death would require an appearance in court. An individual would not be permitted to mail in a fine.  

This may at least give the families an opportunity to be heard as to the impact this tragedy has had on their lives before the court. Unfortunately, in the past the bill has been voted favorably by the committee and passed the Senate, but has not been successful in the house. I hope that this time the House will at least send the bill out of house committee and send it to the floor.

I will continue to present some of the legislative issues we will be considering. If anyone has a particular concern that they wish to discuss concerning legislation, please do not hesitate to contact our office and we can discuss it. It is important to remember that when bills are heard in committee testimony from interested parties is extremely important.  

If you have any questions about the hearings or procedure please do not hesitate to contact our office.

State Sen. Norman R. Stone, Jr. can be reached via email at: norman.stone@senate.state.md.us. His district office is located at 6905 Dunmanway, Baltimore, MD 21222. Phone: (410) 288-5270; fax: (410) 284-2864