SEN. FARLEY ANNOUNCES SENATE PASSES MICHELLE AND JORDAN’S LAW

State Senator Hugh T. Farley (R, C, I – Schenectady) reports that he and his colleagues in the New York State Senate passed legislation that would increase penalties for unlawful high-speed car racing. Michelle and Jordan’s Law (S3732) stems from tragic crashes involving suspected drag racing at excessive speeds which killed a 17-year-old Staten Island girl and a 5-year-old Queens boy.

The measure passed today would help reduce speed-related fatalities by increasing the penalties for unlawful speed contests and races. Studies have found that speeding increases the likelihood and severity of a car crashes. The faster a vehicle is moving, the less time the driver has to react to a hazard and less time that other road users can react to that vehicle. A speeding vehicle requires more time and distance to stop and is harder to control.

In 2007, 17-year-old Michelle Arout of Staten Island was killed when a group of friends were involved in a high-speed car race. As the car she was in reached 95 mph, the driver lost control, slammed into the other car, then smashed into a metal post -- slicing the car in two. Michelle died and her boyfriend was critically injured.

In 2008, 5-year-old Jordan McLean of Queens was thrown from his aunt’s SUV and killed after their vehicle was struck by a suspected drag racer. Jordan and his aunt were driving on a known drag racing hot spot when two cars faced them head-on. After colliding with one car, the other drove off and did not return, and the passengers of the car that hit them fled the scene.

            The bill will be sent to the Assembly.