On August 22, 2021 at 7:26AM, a devastating tragedy occurred.

A son, brother, grandson, nephew, cousin, a star football player and honors student, [only 19 years old] was killed by a drunk and reckless driver.

The individual responsible had been charged with two DWI-DUIs just 4 months prior but still possessed their drivers license.

Despite Maryland law stating that refusal to take a breathalyzer test results in an automatic license suspension for 270 days on the first offense and 2 years on the second offense, this person was still allowed behind the wheel.

On that fateful morning, the driver who caused Keith’s death had a Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) of .266.  Over three times the legal limit of .08 and yet they have never been charged nor even given a DUI citation.

This just isn’t about our personal loss. This is about all lives lost due to drunk driving and changing the laws in our country for the better !

Drunk driving is the second-leading cause of fatal car crashes in the United States, next to speeding.  One alcohol-related death occurs every 52 minutes in the U.S. Drunk driving accidents are responsible for 10,000 deaths every year, In Maryland alone, there were nearly 7,000 DUI arrests in 2018 (source: Maryland Department of Transportation).

Drunk driving accidents represent over 32 percent of Maryland's overall traffic fatalities, averaging nearly 200 deaths per year.  Out of all 50 states plus the District of Columbia, Maryland is ranked as being in the top 10 of having the most lenient DUI-DWI laws. 

“NOAHS LAW” : Why the IID (Ignition Interlock Device) is not as useful as one believes. The answer is fairly simple, the person who is required to have a IID installed in their vehicle can simply have someone else blow for them. 
 
Did you know that refusing an FTST & PAS in Maryland an intoxicated person will be charged with a LESSER offense of DWI opposed to more serious offense of DUI?  This is how drunk drivers get away with hiding their actual BAC & the courts are unable to imposes harsher penalties. This law needs to be changed. 

About a third of all drivers arrested for DWI-DUI are repeat offenders, and 1 out of 8 intoxicated drivers in fatal crashes have had a prior DWI-DUI conviction within the past three years.

30-35% of drunk drivers are between 25 to 35 years of age meaning the majority of drunk drivers on our road ways are over the age of 35. Furthermore; the vast majority of drunk drivers are repeat offenders. Why are these drunk drivers getting 2nd, 3rd, 4th chances?

It is clear that the current laws are insufficient to deter drunk driving effectively in Maryland and in our country.  

We are calling upon lawmakers to enforce stricter DUI-DWI laws in our state.
We need immediate action to ensure repeat offenders face harsher penalties and cannot endanger innocent lives so recklessly again.

When an individual chooses to consume alcohol and get behind the wheel of a vehicle that vehicle becomes a weapon. When that drunk driver then causes the death of a person while behind the wheel of a vehicle (the weapon) they are in-fact guilty of murder and that person should be charged accordingly.

MARYLAND penalties for Drunk Driving resulting in death is 0 to 5 years.  Homicide while DUI: No more than 5 years and/or not more than $5,000.                              MD CRIM LAW § 2-503.

Misdemeanor 2nd degree assault in the state of Maryland (which does not involve a death nor serious injury) is punishable up-to 10 years in prison and/or a $2500 fine. That is a sentence of 5 more years than a person guilty of causing a DEATH while intoxicated.  

Whether you kill a person with a gun, a knife and/or while behind the wheel of a vehicle; you are still responsible for taking an individuals life and when a person is responsible for taking a life regardless how it is taken, there must be consequences. 

We will NEVER get all the changes that are needed when it comes to drunk driving but if “KEITHS LAW” is passed, it will ensure that ALL drunk drivers be held accountable.

KEITHS LAW : In the event that a death occurs due to a vehicle accident, the driver(s) will be legally required to submit to a mandatory blood tox screening. Any person with a BAC level above the state limit, causeing the death of a person while driving intoxicated will be charged with a felony, receive a lifetime license suspension, ordered restitution and/or child support to be paid to a minor child, parent and/or spouse. We will also ask law makers to revise and raise MD CRIM LAW § 2-503 sentencing guidelines, fines and when one refuses to submit to FTST & PAS testing, it will result in a DUI charge opposed to the lesser charge of DWI. 

Together we can make our roads safer and prevent families from experiencing such heart-wrenching losses as we have endured with Keith's passing and by getting dangerous repeat offenders off our streets.

 

DISCLAIMER:  Legally we are NOT allowed to name the drunk driver in this petition because the driver was NEVER ticketed nor charged with drunk driving, nor for being at fault in the accident. This is not about revenge. This about a teenagers justice for law change. There were several attempts by Keith’s family to persuade the States Attorneys office to file charges in this case yet all attempts were unsuccessful. The next best thing is to try and change the insufficient and ineffective DWI DUI laws in our country for the better.  

PLEASE DO NOT LEAVE COMMENTS WITH THE DRIVERS INFO ! 

 

 

 
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LONGLIVEKEITH

 

#Long Live Flattout KD