50 signatures reached
To: NYS Senate & Legislators Office, Congress
Distracted Driving Kills!
Hanahn’s Law: DWD (Driving While Distracted)
Please support us in working on getting a law passed in her name that will change the investigation process in cases of fatalities at the scene of the incident. We are looking into writing a bill to get passed into law so that others don’t get away with taking anyone’s life and not having any accountability or consequences. Please sign our petition to help get legislation to promote a bill that will be passed into law for DWD. This will help current, also future families, get the justice and closure they deserve and need in the tragedy of a loved one in similar situations.
Why is this important?
On Sept 11th, 2022, at 12:45 am, my 26yr old daughter, Hanahn Mystique Benitez, was struck and killed by a driver who just said he " saw nothing" and was not charged with anything. Not even a ticket. My daughter was almost seven months pregnant with a baby girl that she was naming Winter. She was struck on the eastbound side of 347 & Terryville Rd. She was wearing a bright yellow hoodie and was a few feet from the crosswalk. She had already passed almost all the way across the two lanes from a very lit up area coming off the sidewalk from a car dealership corner when the driver struck her from his front left side of his vehicle, and he said he "saw nothing! The driver that killed them made it a point to tell the officers that he is a head nurse at Stony Brook hospital. He hit her so hard that the impact flew her over the metal divider and threw her to the westbound side traffic and she was then hit by two other cars *as per the witness’s statement whose car was facing west and was waiting at the left turn lane. The witness saw everything even though he was facing the opposite direction. How did the killer see "nothing". Was he distracted by something in his car? The police failed to inform me of the driver’s actions before and at the time of impact. The driver was not given a breathalyzer, asked to take a toxicology test, his phone was not looked at (that I know of because it’s not in the incident report), his speed was not documented, and he was NOT made accountable for his actions. When the detectives came to my house that morning to inform me that my daughter and granddaughter had passed, one detective simply stated that it was an accident. How could they come to that conclusion without a thorough investigation yet? It sounded more like it was a vehicular manslaughter. He walked away and she didn’t.
This tragedy has devastated her family, her twin brother, and friends.
How it will be delivered
We are working with Assemblywoman Rebecca Kassay to search current laws and write up bill.