By Riley McCoy
The Register-Herald
BECKLEY — A law named for Baylea Craig Bower will soon raise penalties for West Virginia DUI cases that result in death.
Baylea’s Law, formally House Bill 4712, creates the offense of aggravated DUI resulting in death and sets a mandatory prison sentence of five to 30 years. The law also bars those convicted from home confinement or the youthful offender program, requires a $2,000 to $10,000 fine and imposes lifetime revocation of the offender’s driver’s license.
Gov. Patrick Morrisey held a ceremonial signing Friday, where lawmakers and members of Bower’s family gathered in Beckley Common Council chambers to mark the law’s passage. The law is named for Bower, a 25-year-old Boone County woman killed by an impaired driver on Easter morning in 2023, according to the governor’s office.
“By signing Baylea’s Law, we’re closing gaps in our system and ensuring that those who commit these heartbreaking crimes are held accountable under the law,” Morrisey said.
Morrisey officially approved the bill April 1 after lawmakers completed legislative action March 14. The Senate passed the bill March 13, and the House concurred in the Senate amendment and passed the bill the following day, according to West Virginia Legislature records.
The bill followed public criticism of the sentence in the case against Destany Lester, who was convicted after the crash that killed Bower. Raleigh County Circuit Judge Darl Poling suspended Lester’s three- to 15-year sentence and ordered her to serve six months on home confinement, followed by a program at the Anthony Center for Youthful Offenders, according to WSAZ.
Sen. Rollan Roberts, R-Raleigh, who helped carry the bill through the Senate, said the Beckley signing was appropriate because of the regional support behind the legislation and the impact impaired-driving deaths have had on families in southern West Virginia.
“The loophole is now closed, and we celebrate that,” Roberts said. “But nothing can take away the hurt that the family is suffering.”
The law comes as impaired driving remains a persistent traffic safety concern. Nationally, alcohol-impaired-driving crashes killed 11,904 people in 2024 and accounted for 30% of all traffic fatalities, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. In West Virginia, the Governor’s Highway Safety Program said alcohol-impaired-driving fatalities increased in 2024, while the five-year moving average remained slightly above the state’s target.
Del. Josh Holstein, R-Boone, the bill’s lead sponsor in the House, said he worked with Bower’s family on the legislation after her death shook their community. Holstein said he had known the Craig family most of his life and went to church with them.
“For this tragedy that happened to them, it broke our community,” Holstein said. “I was thankful to work with [the family] to come up with Baylea’s Law.”
Senate Judiciary Chairman Tom Willis, R-Berkeley, said during Senate consideration that the bill could not change what happened to Bower’s family but could affect future cases.
“This bill does not give Baylea’s family justice, but it does give the opportunity for justice for families that may find themselves in similar tragic circumstances in the future,” Willis said.
Baylea’s Law takes effect June 12.
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