According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 26-year-old David Goss Thurby got into his car and drove down Highway 30 in Jefferson, Missouri, after consuming seven shots of Crown and water. He then rear-ended another vehicle, forcing it to swerve off the road and slam into several trees before erupting into flames. Thurby made it out alive, however the family in the other car did not.
The collision killed Cordell Williams, 30, Lacey K. Newton, 25, and their 4-month-old baby Cordell Williams II. Thurby was detained and held without bond at the Jefferson County Jail, where he tested positive for alcohol with a 0.192 percent alcohol level, which is more than double the legal limit.
Williams and Newton leave behind two young kids, Mason, three, and Bentley, five. Cecilia Williams, fortunately, was able to take in her grandchildren while they mourned the death of their parents and their infant brother. Cecilia did not consider prison time alone to be justice, given the long-term emotional and financial consequences.
Cecilia was suddenly tasked with caring for the boys because both of the children’s parents worked to support them. In addition to having to console children in their uncertainty and sadness, the grandma had to foot the bill for their bills. She devised a strategy to make the drunk driver pay for the wreckage he caused.
Cecilia Williams presented a measure in favor of her grandkids, which soon spread from state to state. The dedicated grandma established “Bentley’s Law,” which requires drunk drivers who murder parents of young kids to pay child support until the kids reach the age of 18 and graduate from high school.
Bentley’s Law was unanimously approved by the Tennessee House of Representatives, 93-0. Cecilia’s win was bittersweet since she was still striving to enact laws in her home state to ensure that her grandkids got the money they deserve. She believes it will make intoxicated drivers reconsider getting behind the wheel.
Cecilia stated that when Bentley’s Law was filed in many states, she was resolved to see the measure enacted in all 50 states, even if it took her the rest of her life. Nevertheless, her aim may be closer than she anticipated, since the bill has received praise and encouragement from individuals and politicians across the country.
The more people who learn about Bentley’s Law, the more likely it is that it will be approved in every state. Most individuals would favor this proposal and contact their state officials if they realized how beneficial it would be for the kids of drunk driving victims. Is your government on board?
