A gap in n.c. Law let frank davidson drive with a dwi history. Now three young lives are gone, and the push to fix the law is on.
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Feb. 11–A Charlotte businessman accused of killing two teenage sisters and a 1-year-old boy while driving under the influence in South Carolina last month had previously been convicted at least six times for driving while impaired. But a hole in N.C. law prevented Frank Richard Davidson from being charged under a statute designed to rid the roads of chronic drunken drivers. If Davidson had been convicted as a habitual DWI offender, he would have lost his license for good and gone to prison for at least a year. Instead, the toughest punishment he ever received was 90 days in jail and a suspended license in 1997. Without the felony habitual DWI charge, Davidson was able to get his license back in 2002. The Observer found that hundreds of N.C. drivers have been convicted of impaired driving four or more times but have escaped habitual DWI charges. Now, state legislators say they intend to fix the law. “This clearly is the kind of person the legislature is trying to get off the road,” said Senate Majority Leader Tony Rand, after learning from the Observer how Davidson avoided the habitual DWI law. Davidson had cocaine in his system the night of Jan. 21, when he lost control of his Mercedes on a two-lane road in Marlboro County, S.C., and crossed into the oncoming lane, authorities say. Davidson’s car collided head-on with a Dodge Neon, killing Hannah McBryde, 18, and her sister Abigail, 17, both of Wagram, N.C., and 14-month-old Dale Oxendine of Maxton, N.C. The sisters’ 13-year-old brother, Nathan, was badly injured in the wreck. Davidson, who declined… Source : accessmylibrary.com |