USA: Drive drunk & kill someone? You will pay child support

The bill has been called "Ethan, Hailey and Bentley's Law".

The state senate Of Tennessee, USA has passed a bill, which requires drunk drivers to pay for child support, if they kill the minor's parents in an accident.

According to reports, the convicted will have to make payments in the form of child support to each and every minor child of the victim. The payments will continue until the child turns 18 and has graduated high school.

However, the new bill differs from regular child support. Instead of basing the payment on the income of the person paying, it takes into account the financial needs of the victim's child. Reports state that the courts will determine the amount based on several factors, such as the standard of living the child is accustomed to, their financial needs and the resources of the children and any parent/guardian who survives the crash. Also, if the drunk driver is incarcerated and unable to start making payments immediately, they will have one year post-prison release to start paying the child support amount.

The bill has been called "Ethan, Hailey and Bentley's Law" - names of the children of Tennessee police Officer Nicholas Galinger who were killed by a drunk driver in 2019. The bill was passed by state representative Mark hall and was unanimously accepted by the state's senate.

Source: CBS News