LUKE'S LEGACY

Infant Killed In Accident Remembered In New Law

Waukesha couple pushed for measure to punish drugged drivers

MILWAUKEE - It was almost exactly two years ago when Michelle Logemann's
life changed forever and the life of her unborn son was snuffed out.

The Waukesha woman had entered the intersection of 16th Street and North
Avenue in Milwaukee - with the green light - when a man entered the
intersection and collided with her car.

A few hours later at the hospital, efforts to save her unborn child failed.
The baby had also been injured in the accident and despite an emergency
Cesarean section, the baby - who was to be called Luke - died six minutes
after being brought into the world.

What has happened since that tragic event of Dec. 11, 2001, will not bring
back her child but Logemann hopes it will help others avoid a similar fate.

Logemann, and her husband, Bill, have pushed for a bill that would provide
for harsher punishment for "drugged drivers" like the one who struck her car.

They were moved to action when the driver, Paul D. Wilson, Kenosha, was
sentenced to a maximum of only two years in jail after he pleaded no
contest to the charge of homicide by negligent use of a vehicle. That came
despite forensic toxicologists finding Wilson had traces of cocaine in a
blood test conducted after the accident and who the experts believe was
impaired at the time of the accident.

Bill sought

So the Logemanns worked with state Rep. Mark Gundrum, R-New Berlin, to
increase the range of penalties for people who cause death while driving
under the influence of a controlled substance.

And on Thursday at the Milwaukee County Courthouse, just a few blocks from
where the accident occurred, the Logemanns watched Gov. Jim Doyle sign the
bill into law.

The bill was noted as Assembly Bill 458 but has come to be known as the
"Baby Luke" bill.

The bill makes it easier to prosecute drivers who have been using illegal
drugs by requiring only a showing that the driver did have drugs such as
marijuana, heroin, methamphetamines or cocaine in their system when an
accident occurred. Current law requires prosecutors to prove that the
illegal drugs being used might have impaired the driver.

Unlike drunken driving, there is no set level of controlled substances
appearing in the blood, such as the .08 percent blood-alcohol concentration
standard that proves intoxication.

"In this case, we believe the two experts who said the driver was under the
influence but we couldn't prove he was impaired," said Milwaukee County
District Attorney E. Michael McCann.

The bill means that if drivers are found to have illegal substances in
their system, they are presumed to be impaired in their driving.

Gundrum said if they are convicted of homicide by the intoxicated use of a
vehicle, they could serve up to 26 years in prison.

Logemanns pleased, praised

"We are glad that Governor Doyle signed the Baby Luke bill and we are very
pleased with the responsiveness of Wisconsin's state Legislature," Logemann
said in an emotion-filled statement after the signing. "We are especially
impressed with the hard work of Representative Gundrum and his staff and
are thankful for (District Attorney) E. Michael McCann's support."

But the Logemanns, who declined to make any other comment, were the ones
who the others wanted to focus all the praise on.

"We all search for some good that could come from a tragedy of this type,"
Doyle said, saying the bill might be that one positive outcome.

"It takes a lot for people like Michelle and Bill to take their tragedy and
do something about it to possibly save other parents the grief they have
gone through," the governor added. "It is not going to bring your child
back, but it should save many lives."

Doyle also praised McCann for "recognizing a flaw in the law that needed to
be corrected and working with (Gundrum) who understood what this issue was
and what was needed to be done and correct it."

Gundrum, who sponsored the bill, added, "We all want to thank you for
making the roads a whole lot safer and for the strength it took to relive
this accident time and again.

"How you have the strength to come forward and remember such a tragic day
and again and again ... where that comes from is hard to imagine," Gundrum
said. "But I know this will help prevent this from happening to others."

Gundrum said the goal of the bill was to make "drugged driving" punishable
at least to the level of drunken driving, if not more.

"These drugs are so dangerous that you can't even possess them, much less
sell or distribute them, so why in the world should you be able to get
behind the wheel of a 2,000-pound bullet and endanger people's lives on the
road," Gundrum said.

Among those who could be helped in the future are the Logemanns themselves.
They attended the press conference with their 2-week-old daughter, Alana Marie.