The following article was posted on www.livinglakecountry.com
Bukoskys create site to urge OWI changes - Parents use Internet to share story, spread petition
The parents of Jennifer Bukosky, the former Oconomowoc High School associate principal who was killed in a car crash April 25, along with her 10-year-old daughter and unborn child, have launched a Web site to help urge stricter Wisconsin laws about driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
Posted: October 21, 2008
City of Oconomowoc - The parents of Jennifer Bukosky, the former Oconomowoc High School associate principal who was killed in a car crash April 25, along with her 10-year-old daughter and unborn child, have launched a Web site to help urge stricter Wisconsin laws about driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
The site, www.jenniferbukosky.com, urges state residents to sign a petition that would stiffen the state's intoxicated driving laws and punishments. It also encourages people to reach out to their legislators on the matter.
Judy and Paul Jenkins believe the lives of their daughter, as well as granddaughter Courtney Bella, could have been saved if Wisconsin had stricter drunken driving laws up to par with most other states in the nation.
According to the criminal complaint, the driver of the sport-utility vehicle that stuck Bukosky's vehicle is former surgeon Mark Benson, who only two days before the crash pleaded guilty to his third drunken-driving offense, and was not supposed to drive.
But he did, and after the tragic, Benson was charged with several counts, including with three counts of homicide by intoxicated use of a vehicle.
A State Crime Lab report showed Benson had Xanax, Ambien and oxycodone in his system. Wisconsin's drunken driving laws also forbid doing so under the influence of drugs.
"We physically took petitions to events, but there really weren't enough people," said Judy Jenkins, who is now finding success online.
The site launched last Monday, Oct.13, and as of last Monday has had 1,500 people sign the electronic petition. During the writing of this article, that count rose by about 20 signatures alone.
"We want to reach to all parts of the state," Jenkins said.
The site also offers updates on Benson's case and also includes a contact link that Jenkins said she replies to personally.
"They have showed us that there are so many people out there affected by drunken driving," said Jenkins. "We're learning that more people than we ever imagined have been affected by a death of a loved one from a third-, fourth-, sixth-time drunken driver."
Eventually, the Jenkinses will print out the petitions and take them to the state lawmakers urging that changes be made.
The Jenkinses have been working with numerous groups to help make this possible, including the Department of Transportation, AAA, the legislative bureau, the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Department, Mother Against Drunk Driving and state senators.
"We're hooked in with almost anybody and everybody involved in making this happen," she said. "They are messing with the wrong people if they think we will just go away."
Jenkins said it is hard for her to understand why the state law is as soft as it is with drunken driving.
"Wisconsin is the only state in the union that doesn't criminalize for an OWI arrest," she said. "We don't have anything that is a disincentive."
She said strong lobbies like the Tavern League, as well as Wisconsin's strong tourism industry have kept laws from changing.
"We want all people here to demand change," said Jenkins.
The petition advocates the following changes: The first offense is a crime. The third offense is a felony. Mandatory minimum jail time for all offenses. Strict laws for driving with a revoked or suspended licenses and a felony charge if people are injured or killed. Law allowing for sobriety checkpoints. Mandatory ignition interlock on first offense if the blood-alcohol content is 0.16 or higher and 0.08 for repeat offenders. Mandatory education/treatment programs for alcohol and drug abusers.
