LAWMAKER PUSHES ELLES LAW
By Dan Rivoli Minutes after 6 a.m., Tuesday, Dec. 7, a 21-year-old Upper East Side man crossed Madison Avenue at East 81st Street. At the same time, a 51-year-old man driving a dump truck was backing up on Madison Avenue. The truck hit Jason King, a resident of East 92nd Street and Third Avenue. EMS pronounced King DOA at the scene. The driver received two summonses, though charges have not been filed and police say there is no criminality at this time. An investigation is ongoing. But Assembly Member Micah Kellner, in a letter to Police Commissioner Ray Kelly and Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance, Jr., believes the accident is the kind of incident the Legislature aimed to deter when his bill Elle"s Law was passed. Elle"s Law punishes drivers that injure pedestrians when violating traffic law. The accident that sparked the Elle"s Law campaign is similar to the way King was killed. In September 2009, a car backing up on York Avenue to find a parking space hit Elle Vandenberghe, a toddler being walked through the intersection at East 82nd Street. The pre-schooler survived but was in a two-week coma and suffered brain damage. After the driver received a summons for the accident, Kellner sponsored a bill that would strip the driver of their license for six months. A second offense results in a year-long suspension. The bill was drafted alongside similar legislation known as Hayley and Diego"s Law, which covers accidents that cause death. The punishment results in a fine or a short jail sentence. â??They are on the books for you to use as tools to punish reckless driving and remove dangerous drivers from the road, Kellner wrote in his letter. â??While the driver"s actions may not rise to the level of manslaughter, it is certainly clear that his negligence warrants further punishment than a summons. A spokesperson for the district attorney"s office said that the case under investigation.