Learn How A Tragedy In Missouri Led To A Law On The Books In Maine That Makes Drunk Drivers Pay Child Support To Victims

It's been the mission of one determined grandma, and lawmakers from Missouri to make something good come of something terrible, and it's had a ripple effect all the way to Maine.

According to the Missouri television station KCTV5, Cecilia Williams lost her son, daughter-in-law and infant grandchild in 2021. Courts there ruled that a drunk driver hit and killed them with an automobile, leaving behind two young sons that Williams is now raising.

Read More: Maine Woman Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Bank Fraud

She, along with police and lawmakers in Missouri worked to draft a bill called "Bentley and Mason's Law", after her two grandsons who were orphaned that day.

The bill requires "people convicted of killing a parent while driving under the influence to pay child support to the surviving children...Under the proposal, if the offender is sentenced to jail, child support payments would begin one year after their release. Payments would end when the child turns 18 or 21, depending on the child’s age at the time of the parent’s death."

While the Williams has been waiting for her own home state of Missouri to approve the bill since it was proposed four years ago, "Bentley's Law" as it's been nicknamed, has been adopted by 6 other states including Utah, South Dakota, Kentucky, Texas, Tennessee and Maine.

According to Maine.gov, Representative Holly Stover from Lincoln County was the one to sponsor the bill in Maine.

Read More: Daylight Saving Time: Blessing Or Burden For Local Residents?

The organization Mothers Against Drunk Drivers says the Maine legislature signed LD 1512 into law on June 23rd of 2023.

"MADD supports Bentley’s Law and similar bills that hold drunk driving offenders accountable. Too often, offenders are able to move on with their lives even after killing someone, while victims and survivors are reminded every day of their loss. The idea behind Bentley’s Law is to both provide a sense of justice to victims and survivors and make sure offenders are reminded of the heartbreak they caused by making the choice to drive impaired."

Williams hopes to see Missouri pass the bill into law later this year.

Get our free mobile app

According to legal experts, last year Maine ranked #37th in the nation for drunk driving fatalities, an increase from prior years.

"– Drunk driving fatalities per 100k residents: 3.3 (45, 29% of all car crash fatalities)
– Fatalities involving driver with BAC 0.15 and above: 2.5 per 100K (35, 77.8% of all drunk driving fatalities)
– Change in drunk driving fatalities from 2012: 10% decrease."

For more information on drunk driving statistics throughout the US, you can check out this link from the National Highway Traffic Safety Association.