Evo Street Racers: Enforcement News: Prime Minister pledges to tackle street racing

Panel rejects tougher street-racing penalty

Source: Bee Capitol Bureau
Author: Jim Sanders
Date: April 18, 2007

Lawmakers blocked legislation Tuesday designed to toughen criminal penalties in the wake of an alleged street race that killed a popular El Dorado County teacher three months ago.

Assemblyman Ted Gaines proposed the crackdown after the death of Susan McNew, whose vehicle was struck by a car driven by a 17-year-old boy who allegedly was street racing.

Gaines' proposal, Assembly Bill 247, sought to allow juveniles to be tried as adults if they commit vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated or while street racing.

"Each year, hundreds of people are injured or killed while engaging in this rapidly growing, dangerous and illegal activity," he said of speeding drivers competing for bragging rights.

The Roseville Republican said his measure seeks to discourage street racing by upping the ante for offenders.

The Public Safety Committee rejected AB 247 in a partisan vote, with Republicans supporting the measure and Democrats opposed.

California Attorneys for Criminal Justice, representing defense attorneys, and other opponents of AB 247 said it would set a bad precedent by permitting minors to be charged as adults for crimes in which there was no intent to hurt anyone.

State law currently allows a juvenile of 14 or older to be tried as an adult for murder, torture, kidnap, forcible rape or more than a dozen other crimes of violence or intentional harm.

"Before we know it, we're going to be trying minors as adults for everything," said Assemblyman Jose Solorio, a Santa Ana Democrat who chairs the Public Safety Committee and opposes AB 247.

Teen offenders should have access to rehabilitation services in the juvenile justice system, and AB 247 could exacerbate overcrowding in the state prison system, critics contended.

"I do believe that in many cases, particularly with a (manslaughter) charge, that minors can change their ways and be law abiding," Solorio said.

"We all were teenagers once," said Carl McQuillion, a paralegal. "I'm sure there are a lot of us here in this room who probably made immature decisions as teenagers."

Gaines countered that his bill would allow prosecutors and judges to target the most egregious juvenile offenders by permitting, not requiring, them to be charged as adults.

Street racing is a significant problem statewide, with 42,556 drivers convicted of the offense between 2000 and 2005, Gaines testified.

State Sen. Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, did not attend Tuesday's Assembly committee hearing but said later that he supports a different kind of crackdown on street racing.

Rather than try teenage street racers as adults, Steinberg and Republican Sen. Dave Cox of Fair Oaks have proposed separate legislation, Senate Bill 266, to allow temporary seizure of a teenager's vehicle for the first two offenses and permanent forfeiture after a third.

Steinberg said targeting a racer's prized vehicle "gets right at the heart of creating a real disincentive to engage in this kind of reckless behavior."

At Tuesday's Assembly hearing, Gaines cited the death of McNew, of Blue Oak Elementary School in Cameron Park, whose Toyota Solara was slammed by a red Dodge Stealth as she pulled out of the Folsom Premium Outlets on Jan. 13.

Two 17-year-old boys have been charged with vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence in connection with the death of McNew, 53, a Shingle Springs resident and mother of two who was voted "Teacher of the Year" by colleagues in 1998.

"In the case of the two 17-year-olds who thoughtlessly killed my constituent, the maximum penalty they can receive is four years in a juvenile facility," Gaines testified Tuesday. "They will be out before their 21st birthdays."

Adults convicted of vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence can receive six-year sentences to be served in harsher accommodations -- a state prison, not a juvenile center.

Police say the vehicle that struck McNew's car was traveling at least 60 mph, and probably faster, in a 45-mph zone.

The Sacramento County Sheriff's Department and Safety Center Inc., a nonprofit group promoting vehicle safety, supported AB 247 at Tuesday's legislative hearing.

Afterward, Elizabeth McClatchy of the safety center said most teenagers who drive drunk or engage in street races can be persuaded to change their reckless ways -- but a small percentage ignore reason.

"For a certain number of people, there just needs to be a severe consequence," she said.