South Carolina leads the nation in deadly drunk driving. A new bill hopes to fix it

COLUMBIA, S.C. — A pre-filed bill in the South Carolina legislature aims to fill gaps in the state’s prosecution of DUI cases. Advocates say the lengthy bill is a long time coming.

“I think we have to trace our nation’s worst drunk driving problem in South Carolina directly back to the state of our laws,” said Steven Burritt with the South Carolina chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving. “Just to see how rarely we hold people accountable for the crime when it’s committed in our state.”

That statistic comes from a recent study by Simmrin Law Group, which found South Carolina had the worst rates for drunk driving fatalities by population and miles driven.

Burritt says Senate Bill 52 would accomplish many of the organization’s goals. Most notably, it would do away with the state’s requirement for dash camera video in DUI convictions.

“There may be weather conditions. There are inevitably video or audio glitches,” Burritt said. “In South Carolina, if almost anything goes wrong with your dash cam recording, you have virtually no chance of getting a DUI conviction.” 

Tega Cay resident Pam Taylor has been pushing for reform like this since 2001. That’s when she lost her daughter, Kelli Lewis, to a drunk driver.

“Time does not heal all wounds. It doesn’t,” Taylor said. She recounted the moment the police knocked on her door. “He said, ‘she was involved in an accident,’ a word I despise when it comes to alcohol.”

Taylor hopes this bill will renew her decades-long push for accountability, including her own idea for a bill: Kelli’s Law. This would require all state highway patrol to carry a breathalyzer to help make sure all future offenders are charged.

“I find it easier for me to cry for other people than I do for my own daughter, because that seems to be too deep. It’s too deep. It hurts too much,” Taylor said. “I can focus on these other stories and other parents and cry for their children and what they’re going through.”

Senate Bill 52 has many other layers to help victims and their families, including what is referred to as “Bentley’s Law” which means that a convicted drunk driver could be ordered to pay child support to the surviving children of the victims.

Lawmakers will reconvene on Jan. 14.

For the latest breaking news, weather and traffic alerts that impact you from WCNC Charlotte, download the WCNC Charlotte mobile app and enable push notifications.