Drunk driver killed her son and baby grandson. So, she wrote a law, making drunk drivers pay child support and it’s been enacted in 8 states

Missouri is now among eight states with a version of Bentley and Mason’s Law, Spectrum News reported. The measure was set to take effect there on Aug. 28. It requires a convicted impaired driver who kills a parent or legal guardian to pay restitution so the children left behind can be supported.

The law grew out of work by Cecilia Williams after an April 2021 crash in Missouri. She said a suspected impaired driver took her son, her daughter-in-law, and her four-month-old grandson. The two older boys, Bentley and Mason, were apparently left in her care.

Williams said she pushed the idea with lawmakers so other families would not face the same loss without help. “We wake up every day making change in this world,” she said. “So it doesn’t happen to anyone else. It’s what keeps us going.”

Bentley and Mason’s Law ties support payments to a DUI death conviction

Fox 26 Houston reported that Cordell Williams, 30, Lacey Newton, 25, and their 4-month-old son, Cordell II, died in the crash. The same report said Bentley was 5 and Mason was 3 at the time. Williams said she later received custody of the two surviving grandsons. Impaired driving continues to claim lives, such as when a California semi truck driver pleaded guilty after prosecutors say he was high when he triggered an eight-vehicle crash that killed three people.

David Thurby was reportedly charged with three counts of DWI death of another. Court documents cited there said he told a trooper he had “seven shots of Crown and water.” A probable cause statement cited in that report put a preliminary blood-alcohol level at 0.192, more than twice the legal limit.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol said Thurby’s vehicle rear-ended the couple’s car and forced it off the road into a tree, where it caught fire, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported, according to the outlet. Thurby had minor injuries and also faced four misdemeanors, including possession of marijuana and driving in a reckless manner, that report said.

Williams said an offender’s wages should be garnished and sent to the children or their family until the children turn 18. Rep. Mike Henderson, R-Mo., told FOX TV Stations that the state already had a one-time payment statute for families of DUI victims. He said the new rule was meant to work with that statute. The concept of child support payments can take unexpected forms, as illustrated by a viral story about a father who received a $13.49 check.

“The idea is to marry Bentley’s law with the statute and create something that would take care of these kids who were orphaned. I want these kids taken care of,” Henderson said. Williams said she would not receive money under the law. “I am not doing it for personal gain, I am not doing it for revenge. I am doing it to help other people,” she said.

Spectrum News listed Maine, Kentucky, Texas, and Tennessee among the other states with a version of the law. Valley Law Accident and Injury Lawyers said Tennessee enacted it first, in June 2022, and that the Texas House later passed a version 143-0. That firm also said nearly 20 other states have introduced similar bills.

Williams said the money piece is meant to discourage repeat offenses. “I believe with all my heart that this is the one thing that’s going to help make people from being a second or third or fourth offender. Because it seems to be a huge problem everywhere,” she said.

She added, “I truly believe people value money more than they do people’s lives. And when you, and I hate to use this term, but when you’re going to hit them where it hurts the most, it will not only help the victim, it’s going to help that person who’s driving under the influence to think, ‘I shouldn’t do this again. Look what my actions caused.’”

Fox 26 Houston cited the Department of Transportation as saying about 28 people in the United States die in drunk-driving crashes each day. That report also said 2019 deaths were the lowest share since NHTSA began reporting alcohol data in 1982, yet 10,142 people still died that year.

Williams said a prison term would still apply. After release, she said, an offender would report to the state’s victim services office, which would decide how payments are made. According to Valley Law Accident and Injury Lawyers, said missed court-ordered support can bring more fines, wage garnishment, and in some cases more jail time.

“Bentley’s Law was created out of a tragedy that has affected the lives of two beautiful boys, Bentley and Mason, and the lives of our family,” Williams said. “These crashes are totally preventable, and I will continue to fight for change for all who have suffered from impaired drivers.”

She described the boys’ grief this way: “It’s hard on him. I think, until you’ve actually seen a child hold the urns of their parents and baby brother and talk to them and tell them goodnight, you will never understand the full impact.” She asked people in other states to contact their representatives if they want the same rule. “Get this started. Help make this go nationwide,” she said.