
<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter"><a href="https://www.the-chesapeake.com//2015/12/12/marylands-boozing-legislators-make-sure-states-dui-laws-are-weak-bars-protected-from-being-held-liable-for-drunk-driving-deaths-dui-is-just-a-traffic-offense/bipartisan-maryland-dwi-legislators/" rel="attachment wp-att-10148"><img src="https://www.the-chesapeake.com//wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Bipartisan-Maryland-DWI-legislators-1024x775.jpg" alt="Bipartisan Maryland DWI legislators" class="wp-image-10148"/></a></figure></div>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><;<script src="http://www.nbcwashington.com/portableplayer/?cmsID=361627581&;videoID=D_YKV1K0E3m6&;origin=nbcwashington.com&;sec=news&;subsec=local&;width=600&;height=360" type="text/javascript" charset="UTF-8"></script>>;</p>



<p class="paragraph wp-block-paragraph"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">FROM NBC WASHINGTON:</span></p>



<p class="paragraph wp-block-paragraph"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">A day after the <a href="http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Officer-Noah-Leotta-Critically-Injured-by-Suspected-DUI-Driver-Dies-361422931.html?kekkzkdkdeeeeeee" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">death of a police officer in Maryland who was hit by a suspected drunk driver</a>, calls are increasing for harsher driving-under-the-influence punishments in the state.</span></p>



<p class="paragraph wp-block-paragraph"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Speaking after the death of Officer Noah Leotta, 24, <strong>Montgomery County Police Chief J. Thomas Manger</strong> spoke furiously.</span></p>



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<h3><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><span class="Updated">UPDATED</span><a href="http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Officer-Noah-Leotta-Critically-Injured-by-Suspected-DUI-Driver-Dies-361422931.html">Chief Rails Against DUI Penalties After Officer’s Death</a></span></h3>
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<p class="paragraph wp-block-paragraph"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">“The state of Maryland has some of the weakest penalties for drunk drivers, and in fact, as we look ahead to the prosecution of this case, I can tell you that whenever it’s done, there’s little chance of real justice being done,” he said.</span></p>



<p class="paragraph wp-block-paragraph"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Leotta was critically injured the evening of Dec. 3 when a driver suspected of being drunk slammed an SUV into Leotta’s cruiser and then into the officer as he pulled over another driver suspected of being drunk. The driver, Luis Gustavo Reluzco, 47, has not been charged. Results of a blood test to detect substances in his system are pending.</span></p>



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<h3><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><a href="http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/local/Pedestrian-in-Critical-Condition-After-Crash-in-Rockville-360529471.html">Officer Critically Injured by Suspected DUI Driver: Police</a></span></h3>
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<p class="paragraph wp-block-paragraph"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The maximum penalty in Maryland for killing someone while driving drunk is 10 years, but few defendants ever get that sentence, advocates say.</span></p>



<p class="paragraph wp-block-paragraph"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">“Generally, when someone [driving drunk] kills someone in Maryland, they’re looking at about 18 months,” said Lisa Spicknall, state director of Mothers Against Drunk Driving. She has helped hundreds of families cope with the loss of a loved one to a drunk driver.</span></p>



<p class="paragraph wp-block-paragraph"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">“We all would think that such a person would go to jail for a long time, but number one, the judges are inconsistent. Number two, the prosecutors are inconsistent in terms of seeking serious penalties. And number three, the laws just don’t provide for a long jail sentence,” Spicknall said.</span></p>



<p class="paragraph wp-block-paragraph"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><strong>“It’s a traffic offense, it’s not a criminal offense,”</strong> <strong>Rene Sandler</strong> said. She’s a criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor who also was the victim of a drunk driver.</span></p>



<p class="paragraph wp-block-paragraph"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">In Virginia and D.C., penalties for fatal drunk driving carry 20 to 30 years in prison. Also, unlike in other states, Maryland does not allow victims or their families to sue a person or establishment that served a drunk driver too much alcohol.</span></p>



<p class="paragraph wp-block-paragraph"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Last year, 121 people were killed in Maryland by drunk drivers.</span></p>



<p class="paragraph wp-block-paragraph"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Short prison sentences for drunk drivers re-traumatize their families, Spicknall said.</span></p>



<p class="paragraph wp-block-paragraph"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">“It sets them back to day one, to that day when they were first informed that their loved one was killed,” she said.</span></p>



<p class="paragraph wp-block-paragraph"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">The MADD leader said she hopes the tragedy of Leotta’s death can spark change among lawmakers.</span></p>



<p class="paragraph wp-block-paragraph"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">“Maybe this is the case that makes the senators and delegates step up and say, ‘We’re done with this and we’re tired of it and we want to see these </span>laws,&#8217;<span style="font-size: 12pt;">” Spicknall said.</span></p>



<p class="paragraph wp-block-paragraph"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Advocates will return to Annapolis next year to urge lawmakers for harsher penalties.</span></p>


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