New York DWI Lawyer Blog

Leandra's Law, making it a felony to drive while intoxicated with a child under the age of 16 in the vehicle, led to 661 DWI arrests in 2010, according to an evaluation by the New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services. The law was named for 11 year old Leandra Rosado, who died in an October, 2009 car accident when the SUV she was a passenger in flipped over in Manhattan. The driver of the SUV, Carmen Huertas, is currently serving a 4-12 year sentence for the felony DWI charges.

The number one county for Leandra's Law arrests in 2010 was Suffolk County, with 67 arrests, followed by Erie County with 57 motorists being charged. Westchester County was third, with 45 drivers charged under the law, which went into effect on December 18, 2009.

Male drivers were twice as likely to be arrested under the statute; police charged 425 male motorists and 236 female drivers. Across the United States, 36 states have a child endangerment statute which punishes intoxicated drivers with a child in their cars, but New York was the first state to make it a felony to drive while intoxicated with a child under the age of 16 in the vehicle. Certainly, the Diane Schuler accident in July, 2009, in which 8 people died including 4 children, played a significant role in creating the impetus for Leandra's Law.

Under the statute, any driver now convicted of driving while intoxicated must install an ignition interlock device (IID) in their vehicle for one year. With an IID, the vehicle will only start if the driver has alcohol free breath, and then the driver must continue to blow into the device approximately every 15 minutes to keep the ignition from cutting off. Failure to install, maintain or comply with the IID device can result in additional misdemeanor charges.

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Andrew Gallo, the 24 year old construction worker convicted of felony DWI in the April 9, 2009 car accident which killed Los Angeles Angels pitcher Nick Adenhart, 20 year old Courtney Stewart and 25 year old Henry Pearson, was sentenced to 51 years to life in prison on December 22, 2010. The tragic accident occurred when the defendant ran through a red light at 65 miles per hour and t-boned the car in which Adenhart, Stewart and Pearson were passengers. Another occupant, Jon Wilhite, suffered severe injuries including the separation of his spine from his skull, but amazingly survived the accident.

Gallo was previously on probation for felony DWI when the April 9, 2009 accident occurred. Gallo's BAC (blood alcohol concentration) was allegedly almost three times the legal limit. Judge Richard F. Toohey of the Santa Ana Court sentenced Gallo to 15 years for each of the three passengers killed in the accident, and to 6 years for the injuries suffered by Mr. Wilhite.

Nick Adenhart was a promising rookie pitcher for the Angels who had pitched for the team earlier in the evening of the accident and was out with friends to celebrate at the time of the accident.

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According to a federal report in the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, almost one in eight drivers 16 years of age or older drove while intoxicated in the last year. The study indicates that an estimated 30.6 million drivers were under the influence of alcohol, and 10.1 million admitted to being under the influence of drugs. The estimates were based on surveys of 213,350 motorists by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

The survey also determined that DWI rates between 2006-2009 and 2002 through 2005 dropped from 14.6% to 13.2%. Comparing the same two time periods, DWAID (driving while impaired by drugs) fell from 4.8% to 4.3%.

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