Proposal would increase penalty for vehicular homicide in Delaware

A Delaware lawmaker believes increasing the penalty connected with vehicular homicides would reduce those numbers in the state.

Delaware state Senator Joe Booth says he wants to reduce the number of vehicular homicide incidents in the First State.   Booth is proposing legislation that would increase the maximum jail time for second degree vehicular homicide from three years to eight years.  Under his bill  the maximum sentence for first degree vehicular homicide would increase from five years to 25 years.

Booth says, “I have monitored recent cases of vehicular homicide, including some in my district and the surrounding area.  I think it is appropriate to increase the penalties for these offenses as this bill provides.”  He says a victim’s family is just as devastated by the loss of their loved one through vehicular homicide as they would be if that person was killed with another weapon.

The issue of vehicular homicide is hitting home for many community leaders in Delaware following the death of Christopher White.  The executive director of the Community Legal Aid Society was hit and killed while walking on the sidewalk near 8th and Shipley Streets in Wilmington.  The driver of the car that hit White had been involved in a pair of hit-and-run accidents just moments before crashing into a parking meter and the 48-year-old from West Grove, Pa.

The driver of the car fled the scene and has not been found.

White had been a big advocate for the needy and the homeless.  He played a major role in coordinating the state’s efforts to help home owners facing foreclosure by offering mediation between the residents and their lenders.