Following a high-profile boat crash in Old Saybrook last year, legislators in the Connecticut General Assembly are considering a bill that would link roadway and waterway DUI convictions with license suspension for both driving and boating.
“I think this concept certainly makes sense,” said state Rep. Devin Carney, an Old Saybrook Republican who co-sponsored the legislation, at a Monday public hearing of the Transportation Committee. “We want to make our roadways and waterways as safe as humanly possible. Unfortunately, this legislation did come as a result of a tragedy, and we want to just make sure something like that never happens again.”
Last Labor Day weekend, three passengers died when the driver of the boat they were riding in allegedly slammed into a breakwater at high speed while drunk. The boat’s driver, Clayton Hackling, had a pending DUI case.
Jessica Britagna’s 24-year-old son Ryan was among those killed. On Monday, she testified before legislators in support of the bill.
“A person convicted of a DUI on the road can still operate a boat without restriction,” Britagna said. “This is not just an oversight, it is a deadly loophole. I am here today despite the grief that will always weigh on me to urge you to take action.”
“Passing this legislation will not bring my son back, but it will ensure that his death was not in vain,” she said. “It will be a step toward accountability, responsibility and safety, so that other mothers never have to stand where I am standing today.”
Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles Commissioner Tony Guerrera testified that linking suspensions between boating and driving licenses would require cooperation over multiple agencies.
“Right now, we just handle motor vehicles,” Guerrera said. “[The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection] handles vessels.”
“We would hope that the judiciary needs to be involved in this pretty much from the get-go, to make sure that they send information not only to the Department of Motor Vehicles but also to DEEP,” Guerrera said.
“We have to make sure the court system is allowing some type of communication to both agencies, so we can correspond to make sure that if legislation was to ever pass that we have the data and the information to suspend their motor vehicle license,” he said.
Hackling faces 12 criminal counts stemming from the September crash and the deaths of Britagna, 25-year-old Ian Duchemin, and 34-year-old Christopher Hallahan. He is next due to appear in court in April.
