On November 11, 2012, David A. Smith was riding his motorcycle on Tonawanda Creek Road in Amherst. He veered off the road and into a group of pedestrians on a bike path. The accident killed two women, Jocelyn B. Elberson, 25, and Sheila Pelton, 81, and injured Foster Pelton, 79. Smith was initially charged with DWI and criminally negligent homicide, but pled guilty to felony first-degree vehicular manslaughter, second-degree vehicular assault, and misdemeanor DWI. He was sentenced to 4 to 12 years in prison. Jocelyn Elberson’s parents began pushing for legislation that instituted harsher penalties in certain DWI cases. This legislation, known as Jocelyn’s Law, would increase sentencing for those who cause the death of others in DWI accidents and have a serial history of operating motor vehicles under the influence. Read on to find out more about the law, what effects it may have on you if it’s passed, and how an attorney can help.
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