HB2565 - Hailey's Law.
Hailey French was injured in a head-on collision with a drunk driver who had been released from a prior drunk driving arrest by a state trooper one hour and 39 minutes previously. Instead of booking the drunk driver into jail or impounding her car, the trooper drove her home, gave her back her keys, and admonished her not to drive again "until she sobered up." Instead the drunk driver called a taxi, returned to her car, got back on the road, and crossed the center line hitting Hailey French head-on.
Extensive Damages: Hailey French suffered a crushed right foot, a shattered right patella (kneecap), a comminuted right femur (thigh bone), a fracture dislocation of the right acetabulum (hip socket), and a crushed left wrist. Extensive damages were established through the testimony of Dr. Stephen Benirschke, who testified that he only began to see such devastating lower extremity injuries after the advent of the air bag because prior to that individuals involved in such head-on collisions did not survive. Rather than call the two dozen doctors who treated Hailey French through her 13 surgeries, Plaintiff relied upon a summary of treatment and prognosis produced by Dr. Michael Vondette, the physical medicine doctor who follows all of the total hip replacement patients at Vancouver's Holy Family Hospital. Dr. Ted Becker estimated that Hailey French suffered a 35 percent loss of whole body function under the AMA Guidelines to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment.
Interesting statistics:
Drunk driving is the leading cause of traffic deaths in Washington State and across the country. Approximately 11,000 people die in drunk driving related accidents each year in the United States.
Between 1993 and 2008, there were 712 fatal drunk driving accidents in Snohomish County alone
Fifty to seventy-five percent of drunk drivers whose licenses are suspended continue to drive.
A first time drunk driving offender on average has driven drunk 87 times prior to being arrested.
IT'S TIME TO RALLY
Please call your family, friends, co-workers or business associates and ask them to contact the House Representatives from their district (not Senate yet) and urge them to pass HB2565 - Hailey's Law to the Rules Committee.This is the most important piece of legislation TRAW has supported and we need everyone's help.
Being involved in an accident with a DUI driver is unimaginable .Being in an accident with a repeat offender, a DUI driver that was stopped and arrested less than two hours prior is inconceivable .
Hailey's Lawrequires that the DUI driver's vehicle is impounded; no discussion, no discretion… immediate impound.If the driver is the Registered Owner, the car will be held for a minimum of 12 hoursIf the driver is NOT the Registered Owner, no hold will be placed on the vehicle and the R/O can redeem the vehicle immediately.
PLEASE DON'T WAIT; WE NEED YOUR HELP NOW!!!
(Show everyone we're trying to keep Washington's roads safe)
If they need help finding their Legislative District, here's how:
Find Your Legislative District: http://www.leg.wa.gov/pages/home.aspx
Legislative Hotline: 1.800.562.6000
TRAW- "The Power of a Team"
Together, we can make a difference!
Thank you for your help,
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