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Man sentenced under DWI law; new statute takes effect

Thu, Dec 24th 2009 12:00 am
NEW YORK (AP) - Prosecutors say a Staten Island man is the first person to be sentenced under a new state law requiring people convicted of drunken-driving felonies to pass a breath test every time they start their car.

Bernardo Gonzalez pleaded guilty Friday to a DWI offense.

Under a law that took effect the same day, he will have to install a device in his car known as an ignition interlock.

Drivers with the devices have to blow into the machine to get the car to start.

If they have alcohol on their breath, the engine stays off and the police are automatically notified.

The judge also gave Gonzalez 60 days in jail.

And, as of Friday, driving while intoxicated with a child in the vehicle is now a felony in New York.

Under the state's new Child Passenger Protection Act, drivers convicted of DWI with a child under 16 years old in the vehicle face sentences of up to four years in state prison.

The legislation was named for 11-year-old Leandra Rosado of Manhattan, who was killed going to a sleepover. She and six other children were passengers in a vehicle that crashed on Manhattan's Henry Hudson Parkway in October. Police say the driver was drunk.

Leandra's law also says drivers intoxicated by alcohol or drugs who cause the death of a child riding in their car may face a felony charge punishable by up to 25 years in prison.