3-year-old Josiah Jenkins was killed by a
drunk driver last week
(photo credit: thestate.com)
Josiah Jenkins, was buried Sunday at Refuge Temple
church in Columbia, SC. The toddler was
killed as a result
of severe head trauma when a drunk driver plowed into the vehicle
Jenkins was riding in as his mother Latoya Jenkins drove. The inebriated driver, 44-year-old Lonnie
Gross III is, of course, just fine. The
accident took place while Gross was out on bond awaiting trial for a previous
DUI charge just this past November.
Horrific crash scene underscores need for stricter DUI laws
(photo credit: wistv.com)
There were over 600 mourners at the service, many of
whom did not even know young Jenkins.
But it is indicative of a community that is fed up with lenient DUI laws
that have made the county jail essentially a revolving door storefront.
Repeat Drunk driver Lonnie Gross III
(photo credit: thestate.com)
According to The State newspaper, Gross is a
four-time felon (whose
crime of choice is DUI) who kept being released on bond
and probation. Not only was Gross driving
under the influence when the accident occurred last week, but his license was
suspended. For the fifth time, the crime
is DUI, and finally the judge has shown mercy to the innocent citizens of
Columbia and denied Gross bail.
Last year there was a big push for stricter DUI
penalties when yet another child, 6-year-old Emma Longstreet, was killed by a
repeat drunk driver. Sen. Joel Lourie,
D-Richland, introduced Emma’s law which would require first time DUI offenders
to use an ignition locking device on their vehicles for a minimum of six
months. Read more about how
this system would work here.
Shamefully, the bill stalled for almost a year due
to partisan politics. Now with the rash
of more deaths by repeat DUI offenders in South Carolina, both sides of the
house are agreeing to come together and will give the bill a hearing this
Thursday.
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