Andi Heidt, of Hublersburg, hopes to be there when legislation is signed into law that toughens penalties for those who commit homicide while boating under the influence.
The state House and Senate passed the bill last Thursday and Gov. Tom Corbett is expected to sign it.
Heidt said “it’s a little something,” though it won’t change the case resulting from the death of her 12-year-old daughter, Valerie, who was killed during the Fourth of July weekend two years ago.
Valerie was riding in a boat on the Susquehanna River, in Clinton County, when John E. Englert II, of Mill Hall, drove his boat into its path and the two collided. Valerie Heidt was killed, and seven people were injured.
Police said Englert had a 0.22 blood alcohol level at the time, almost three times the legal limit for driving a car.
He pleaded no contest to five of the most serious charges he faced, including homicide by vehicle while DUI, two assault charges, obstruction of justice and driving a watercraft while DUI. The plea agreement, under which he admitted no guilt, included five to 11 years in jail.
Andi Heidt appealed to state lawmakers after the agreement because killing someone by boat while DUI currently results in a lesser prison sentence than someone who does the same by car.
Rep. Kerry Benninghoff, RBellefonte, sponsored the resulting legislation, which he recently delivered to Heidt. It makes Englert’s crime a second-degree felony, with a maximum of 10 years in prison. It previously was a third-degree felony, with a maximum of seven years.
The bill also includes provisions for a consecutive three-year prison term for each additional person killed in such an incident, and for considering a previous vehicle DUI plea or conviction as a first offense.
In Englert’s case, state law prohibited the judge from considering his four previous DUIs.
“Unfortunately, the court sort of had to turn a blind eye,” Benninghoff said. “First of all, the goal was to get parity. It didn’t make sense that we had two sets of standards.”
Benninghoff, Rep. Mike Hanna, D-Lock Haven, and Sen. John Wozniak, D-Westmont, all worked on the legislation.
“I do think there’s a certain mindset that the law was more lax because you’re on water,” Benninghoff said. “I think it just sends a message. We want people to boat
and drink responsibly. I don’t think that’s too much to ask. If you’re irresponsible, we’re going to punish you accordingly.”
Tom Kamerzel, director of the state Fish and Boat Commission Law Enforcement Bureau, said the bill’s provisions will benefit future cases, which are rare. He said he prosecuted one in 1985, and Englert’s was the second he knows of.
“It gives the judge an opportunity for a much stiffer jail sentence than previously,” he said. “These are not things that happen every boat season.”
Nonetheless, Andi Heidt said her family is happy with the bill.
“It’ll making drinking and boating count,” she said. “That’s what I’m really excited about.”
Jessica VanderKolk can be reached at 235-3910.
