‘Tina’s Law’: New measure targets state’s worst drivers

AUGUSTA – Mandatory jail sentences, impounded vehicles and hefty fines would be among the new penalties for repeat operating-after-suspension offenders under new legislation inspired by the victim of a Caribou truck driver.

“Tina’s Law” – in memory of the late Tina Turcotte, 40, of Scarborough – targets the state’s worst drivers and is a response by Sen. Bill Diamond, D-Windham, and Rep. Darlene Curley, R-Scarborough, to perceived weaknesses in Maine’s motor vehicle laws.

“There’s not been enough attention or severity given to those who violate our traffic laws who are not charged with [operating while under the influence] of drugs or alcohol,” Diamond said Friday. “We focus on OUI a lot, but we’ve kind of let non-OUI offenses like operating after suspension just kind of float along.”

According to the Maine Secretary of State’s Office, about 4.5 percent of Maine’s 985,000 licensed drivers have between five and nine suspensions on their records; 1.5 percent have between 10 and 14 suspensions; and 0.80 percent have 15 or more. Deputy Secretary of State Doug Dunbar said suspensions are never deleted from a driver’s record and, in some cases, may have accumulated over several decades. The majority of the suspensions in Maine, he said, result from administrative actions imposed by the Secretary of State’s Office or the courts for failing to pay outstanding fines or allowing automobile insurance to lapse.

Standing head and shoulders above all other recent operating-after-suspension offenses is the state’s case against Scott Hewitt, a Caribou trucker whose lengthy record of driving offenses was revealed after the July 29 accident that claimed Turcotte’s life. Hewitt, 33, has pleaded not guilty to nine misdemeanor charges that were filed against him after he drove his rig into the back of Turcotte’s car at a construction site along the Maine Turnpike in Hallowell.

Hewitt’s record of 63 convictions and 22 license suspensions and his involvement in a previous fatal accident triggered public outrage and calls for reforms by elected officials who were shocked to learn the circumstances of the latest accident did not warrant a felony charge.

Hewitt has been incarcerated at the Kennebec County Jail in Augusta since late September, awaiting trial on the nine charges. He has been unable to meet special bail conditions which also required him to post $75,000 in cash or $300,000 worth of real estate.

Together with Pat and Bob LaNigra, Tina Turcotte’s parents, Diamond and Curley plan to hold a press conference Monday at the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office in Portland to outline the legislation co-sponsored by both lawmakers.

Major points of the proposed new law include:

. Suspended licenses will be immediately confiscated by the secretary of state for the duration of the suspension.

. Offenders operating after suspension will have their vehicle impounded for the duration of the suspension.

. OAS offenders responsible for an accident resulting in injury will face a Class C felony and when resulting in death a Class B felony. Corresponding OUI penalties will be upgraded from C to B in the cases of injury or death.

. If a license is suspended three times (because of traffic violations) in three years, it will be revoked for one year. If the driver is then found OAS, he or she will face six months of jail time.

. If a license is suspended four to six times (because of traffic violations) in three years, it will be revoked for six years. If the driver is then found OAS, he will face two years jail time.

. If a license is suspended more than six times (because of traffic violations) in three years, it will be revoked for 10 years, and if the driver is found OAS, he will face five years in prison.

Other provisions of the legislation would require OAS offenders with three suspensions resulting from traffic violations to pay a $1,000 fine. Those with four, five or six suspensions (because of traffic violations) will face fines of $2,000, $3,000 or $4,000 respectively. More than six suspensions (because of traffic violations) would result in a fine of $5,000 for each occurrence.