BY BRYAN SABELLA
Staff Writer
In the wake of the death of a local teen in an accident allegedly caused by a convicted drunken driver with numerous prior violations, state Sen. Barbara Buono (D-18) unveiled a package of legislative reforms specifically tailored to create harsher penalties for repeat offenders.
Buono announced her proposals March 24 at a press conference at the Middlesex County Prosecutor’s Office in New Brunswick, flanked by Prosecutor Bruce Kaplan, Assistant Prosecutor Nicholas Sewitch and Middlesex County Freeholder Chris Rafano, who chairs the Committee on Law and Public Safety.
On March 12, 17-year-old Michael Partipilo, Piscataway, a stand-out student at Metuchen’s St. Joseph’s High School, suffered fatal head injuries when his Toyota 4Runner was struck by a construction van driven by Philip Gonzalez, 43, Edison, who authorities say allegedly ran a red light at the intersection of Washington and Centennial avenues.
Gonzalez’s blood alcohol level was reported to be 0.245, more than three times the legal limit.
Gonzalez, who has been charged with aggravated manslaughter, had four prior convictions for driving under the influence, according to state Motor Vehicle Commission records.
The last occurred in Metuchen in 1999, in which he was mistakenly sentenced to a six-month license suspension as opposed to the 10-year suspension mandated by law.
In 2002, 28,139 people were arrested in the state for drunken driving, according to the state Administrative Office of the Courts. Of that number, nearly 20 percent of those individuals were charged for second or third offenses.
Buono proposed four reforms, the first of which aims to eliminate the kind of error that resulted in Gonzalez getting off lightly after his fourth offense.
Buono’s proposal would require that, before sentencing, prosecutors and judges review the abstract records of a driver charged with driving under the influence, refusal to consent to a Breathalyzer test, driving while on the revoked list, or leaving the scene of an accident.
Second, Buono proposes eliminating the "step down" provision to drunken driving statutes, which treats a second conviction as a first-time offense if it occurs more than 10 years after the first, and similarly treats a third offense as a second if it comes more than 10 years later.
"A pattern of drunk driving convictions is a pattern of drunk driving convictions. Under this bill, second- and third-time offenders will be sentenced as such," she said.
Buono’s package also seeks to raise the minimum term of incarceration for driving while revoked from a period of 10 days to a minimum of 30 days.
Finally, Buono proposes raising the minimum amount of time an offender must spend at an Intoxicated Driver Resource Center.
When asked if she expects any opposition to her proposals, Buono said, "There’s always the risk of the restaurant lobby, the alcohol lobby fighting it."
She noted that both lobbies were successful for a time in opposing the reduction of the state’s legal blood alcohol limit from 0.10 to .08.
"That took until we lost hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding," she said. "I think law enforcement, chiefs of police and prosecutors will get behind [this legislation]."
Buono said repeat offenders "are simply not getting the message."
In the case of Philip Gonzalez, "there was no indication that the driver ever received any meaningful help or treatment, in spite of his horrible driving record," Buono said.To that end, she said that increasing the amount of time offenders will spend in a resource center program is vital.
"With repeat offenders, there is an issue of substance abuse there, and there needs to be an element of treatment. We can’t simply address it from a punitive approach," she said.
Buono acknowledged that more severe penalties can’t completely remedy the situation and that there are those who will continue to drink and drive, even with a suspended license.
"There is no silver bullet; we know that," she said, but added there is a dire need "for anything to help diminish the threat."