Tenn. Bill Passes Requiring Drunk Drivers Pay Child Support If Parent Dies

WGCL reports a bill in Tennessee unanimously passed in the Senate Wednesday that would require someone convicted of vehicular homicide due to intoxication to pay child support if that person kills a parent. 

House Bill 1834 was introduced one month prior to the sentencing of Janet Hinds, who was driving while intoxicated when she struck and killed Chattanooga police officer Nicholas Galinger on Feb. 23, 2019. Galinger, 38, was one month removed from his police academy graduation when he went to inspect a manhole cover overflowing water that fateful night. 

Since Hinds fled the scene, authorities were never able to determine her blood alcohol content at the time, but security camera footage obtained from the bar she visited before getting behind the wheel shows she consumed five drinks, the equivalent of a six-pack and a shot of liquor, over a four-hour span. Hinds was convicted of the aforementioned charge and sentenced to 11 years in prison. 

Galinger’s family, which included two children, filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Hinds, the establishment that served her, and the city of Chattanooga for failing to maintain its manhole cover. They were seeking $25 million. After Hinds was sentenced, the family signaled their intent to double their request.