The bill is called Ricci's Law, named after Ricci Branca, a 17-year-old boy from Egg Harbor Township, Atlantic County who was killed in a drunk driving accident. Ricci was biking to Ocean City with a bunch of friends, when Stephen Fench slammed his car into the group. The friends escaped with minor injuries. Ricci died from injuries sustained in the crash. Fench, it was revealed later was not only a repeat DUI offender, but had a blood alcohol level of .339 at the time of the crash. That's more than four times the legal limit in New Jersey of 0.08.   The police reported that  he spent the four hours before the accident drinking up to 10 glasses of wine at a nearby bar. Since, then Fench has been sentenced to 16 years in prison.

As a Bergen and Monmouth County car accident lawyer, I am more than aware of how limited the effect of suspended licenses as well as jail time is on people who commit the most criminally foolish negligence while driving. License suspensions are hardly the tough deterrent for drunk drivers that they are meant to be and, and while jail time is fine, it doesn't help bring back the people who have already been killed. If a single life is spared because a DUI offender was prevented from starting his car and driving off with his system pumped with alcohol, it would be worth the effort getting the law passed. As a Monmouth and Bergen County car accident lawyer we often have to step in to deliver civil justice to the victims or their families after a devastating horrific turn of events. Unfortunately, our efforts can never really make the victim or their family whole again.