[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.0.92″ custom_padding=”2px|0px|37.9062px|0px”][et_pb_row custom_padding=”0px|0px|18.9531px|0px” custom_margin=”10px|||” _builder_version=”3.0.92″][et_pb_column type=”2_3″][et_pb_text admin_label=”News Story” _builder_version=”3.19.7″ custom_margin=”0px||0px|”]<\/p>\n
\u00a0David Longstreet’s\u00a0daughter Emma was killed by a drunk driver before she had the chance to celebrate her seventh birthday. On Tuesday,\u00a0Longstreet stood on the\u00a0steps of the State House and pleaded with lawmakers and the governor to\u00a0strengthen drunken driving laws in South Carolina.<\/p>\n
\u201cEmma didn\u2019t lose any of her baby teeth yet. That\u2019s how young she was,\u201d Longstreet told a crowd of supporters, many carrying placards with the faces of crash victims.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Longstreet worked tirelessly to get Emma’s Law passed in South Carolina in 2014, two years after she was killed on her way to church in Lexington County. Emma’s Law requires those convicted of a DUI who registered\u00a0a blood alcohol content of .15 to have a breathalyzer device installed on their vehicles. The ignition interlock device connects to the ignition and requires the driver to pass a breathalyzer test before the vehicle will start.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Longstreet is now pushing for passage of legislation that would require the\u00a0devices in the vehicles of all persons convicted of a DUI, regardless of their blood alcohol content.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis bill puts teeth to the law,\u201d Longstreet said.\u00a0The driver who crashed into the Longstreet’s vehicle, Billy Patrick Hutto, pleaded guilty to two counts of felony driving under the influence and was sentenced to 10 years in prison.\u00a0<\/p>\n
South Carolina ranks second in the nation for most drunk driving-related deaths, according to a study conducted by Safewise in 2017. In South Carolina, there are 6.22 impaired driving deaths per 100,000 people.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Longstreet was joined by many supporting this bill including\u00a0Gov. Henry McMaster.<\/p>\n
“Drunk driving is one thing we can do without in the state of South Carolina,\u201d said McMaster.<\/p>\n
Various supporters of the bill, from law enforcement officers to Mothers Against Drunk Driving, were among the faces within the crowd. Several in the somber\u00a0crowd clung to the words spoken by the various speakers, holding on to the hope that change is coming.<\/p>\n
Some family members of the deceased crash victims put on brave faces as they held pictures of their lost loved ones while others allowed tears to fall. Megan Diffee, a survivor of a drugged driving accident, detailed her struggles.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s just been hell,\u201d Diffee said. \u201cI had to re-learn how to walk, I lost my ability to run. I can\u2019t drive. I\u2019ve lost everything except the support of my family.\u201d<\/p>\n
Diffee was hit head-on by a drugged driver going 60 mph and rear ended by the car behind her last year. Diffee broke more than 20 bones, has had a brain stint inserted and numerous surgeries. Diffee said she was still recovering from her most recent surgery.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Diffee’s ongoing recovery process is one of the reasons why she and others gathered at the State House to show their support for the passing of this new bill.<\/p>\n
\u00a0McMaster said \u00a0he would sign the legislation\u00a0without hesitation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s get it done and let\u2019s get it done soon,\u201d McMaster said.<\/p>\n
South Carolina would be the 33rd state, along with the District of Columbia, to require anyone convicted of a DUI to have an ignition interlock device installed in their vehicles. Lawmakers are expected to take up the bill next week.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″][et_pb_image admin_label=”Image 1″ show_in_lightbox=”on” show_bottom_space=”off” _builder_version=”3.19.7″ custom_margin=”||2px|” custom_padding=”|||” animation_style=”slide” box_shadow_style=”preset2″ box_shadow_horizontal=”4px” box_shadow_vertical=”4px” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” force_fullwidth=”off” src=”http:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/DUIW2.jpg”]<\/p>\n
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[\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text admin_label=”Caption 1″ _builder_version=”3.19.7″ text_font=”|600|||||||” text_font_size=”12px” text_line_height=”1.4em” custom_margin=”8px|||2px” custom_padding=”|||”]<\/p>\n
David Longstreet, the father of Emma Longstreet, who was killed by a drunken driver in 2012,<\/strong> delivered a heartfelt speech about the need for stronger drunken driving laws.\u00a0<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image admin_label=”Image 2″ show_in_lightbox=”on” show_bottom_space=”off” _builder_version=”3.19.7″ custom_margin=”||2px|” custom_padding=”|||” animation_style=”slide” box_shadow_style=”preset2″ box_shadow_horizontal=”4px” box_shadow_vertical=”4px” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” force_fullwidth=”off” src=”http:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/DUIW5.jpg”]<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text admin_label=”Caption 2″ _builder_version=”3.19.7″ text_font=”|600|||||||” text_font_size=”12px” text_line_height=”1.4em” custom_margin=”8px|||2px” custom_padding=”|||”]<\/p>\n Gov. Henry McMaster is a key supporter of a measure that will crack down on DUI offenders in South\u00a0Carolina.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image admin_label=”Image 3″ show_in_lightbox=”on” show_bottom_space=”off” _builder_version=”3.19.7″ custom_margin=”||2px|” custom_padding=”|||” animation_style=”slide” box_shadow_style=”preset2″ box_shadow_horizontal=”4px” box_shadow_vertical=”4px” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” force_fullwidth=”off” src=”http:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/DUIW4.jpg”]<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text admin_label=”Caption 3″ _builder_version=”3.19.7″ text_font=”|600|||||||” text_font_size=”12px” text_line_height=”1.4em” custom_margin=”8px|||2px” custom_padding=”|||”]<\/p>\n Megan Diffee, a survivor of a DUI accident, and her husband Brandon have had an uphill battle as they try to return to normal after Megan\u2019s near-death experience.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image admin_label=”Image 4″ show_in_lightbox=”on” show_bottom_space=”off” _builder_version=”3.19.7″ custom_margin=”||2px|” custom_padding=”|||” animation_style=”slide” box_shadow_style=”preset2″ box_shadow_horizontal=”4px” box_shadow_vertical=”4px” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” force_fullwidth=”off” src=”http:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/DUIW1.jpg”]<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text admin_label=”Caption 4″ _builder_version=”3.19.7″ text_font=”|600|||||||” text_font_size=”12px” text_line_height=”1.4em” custom_margin=”8px|||2px” custom_padding=”|||”]<\/p>\n Brandon Ross, with the Coalition of Ignition Interlock Manufacturers and a leader in the Tennessee chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, demonstrates how the interlocking device works.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image _builder_version=”3.19.7″ src=”http:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/02\/DUI-graphic.jpg” \/][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Gov. McMaster called for stricter regulations for those convicted of driving under the influence Tuesday. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":165,"featured_media":17251,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":""},"categories":[67,62],"tags":[545,106,346,80],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17214"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/165"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17214"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17214\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19207,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17214\/revisions\/19207"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17251"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17214"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17214"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/carolinanewsandreporter.cic.sc.edu\/test\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17214"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}