BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — A petition that has received thousands of signatures calling for stiffer sentences for convicted DUI drivers is circulating again after the death of an 8-year-old boy last week in East Bakersfield.
The Change.org petition was started by law firm Chain, Cohn Clark, eight months ago following the deaths of a Bakersfield couple in March. The couple — Max and Desiree Mooney — were heading home in a ride-booking service when the vehicle they were traveling in was struck by an alleged DUI driver.
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“This is not an isolated incident,” the petition reads. As of Monday afternoon the petition has more than 8,700 signers.
Months later, the petition is gaining more signatures following the death of 8-year-old Xxavien Hernandez by an alleged DUI driver near East California Avenue and Haley Street on Nov. 3. Hernandez was eating a meal with his father at a food truck when the driver of a pickup truck crashed through a fence and struck Hernandez and his father.
In September, a 6-year-old girl died of her injuries following a crash involving a suspected DUI driver on East Panama Lane.
The petition is calling for stronger first-time DUI sentences which would require changes to current law. “We demand stronger state-level efforts to ensure stricter sentencing for first-time DUI offenses, not just higher fines, but real deterrents that make people think before they drink and drive, and prevent repeat offenses,” the petition text reads.
Some of the changes the petition calls for includes mandatory minimum sentences for first-time DUI offenders, stricter license suspensions and alcohol monitoring for those convicted.
You can read the petition at this link.
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