Committee advances 'Devin Rooney and John Wesley Holt Safe Street Act' to toughen DUI and leaving-the-scene penalties

The House Judiciary Committee voted to give a favorable report to House Bill 243, which sponsors framed as a response to two vehicular homicides in the sponsor’s district. Representative Wilcox introduced the bill and introduced family members of victims Devin Rooney and John Wesley Holt to the committee.

District Attorney Keith Blackwood told the committee the bill would "place driving while under the influence and causing a death squarely within the manslaughter statute," moving many such cases from criminally negligent homicide (class C) to manslaughter or reckless categories that carry stiffer penalties. Blackwood said the bill also would make leaving the scene where a death occurs a class B felony and would authorize restitution to families—restoration Blackwood said is currently unavailable under the existing wording of section 32-10-1 as interpreted by a Court of Criminal Appeals opinion.

Committee members praised the sponsor and the DA, expressed condolences to the families, and the committee adopted an amendment naming the bill the "Devin Rooney and John Wesley Holt Safe Street Act." After discussion the committee approved a favorable report by voice vote.

The bill combines two changes: a reclassification of certain DUI-related deaths to be treated under manslaughter standards and a tougher penalty for leaving the scene when death results, plus an explicit restitution remedy for victims' families. The committee did not record an individual roll-call tally; action was recorded as a favorable report.