BILL WOULD TOUGHEN LAW ON DRUGGED DRIVING

Measure Makes It Easier To Prosecute Drivers

Madison - Legislation toughening Wisconsin penalties on people who drive
while on drugs won unanimous backing of the state Senate Judiciary
Committee on Monday.

Called the "Baby Luke Bill," the measure was prompted by the case of
Michelle Logemann, a Waukesha woman whose car was hit by a van driven by
Paul D. Wilson. Prosecutors said Wilson ingested cocaine and ran a red
light in Milwaukee in December 2001.

The legislation would make it easier to prosecute drivers who use illegal
drugs by requiring only a showing that the driver had an illegal drug in
his system. Current law requires authorities to prove that the illegal drug
actually impaired the driver.

"These mind-altering drugs are so dangerous it is illegal to sell,
distribute or even possess them," said Rep. Mark Gundrum (R-New Berlin),
co-sponsor of the bill. "A person should not be permitted to shoot up with
heroin or do a few lines of cocaine and then get behind the wheel of a
2,000-pound bullet."

Logemann, who was 30 weeks pregnant, was seriously injured in the crash,
and her baby was delivered by emergency Caesarean section and died hours later.

Although forensic toxicologists believed Wilson was impaired, they lacked
the scientific proof. Wilson pleaded no contest to homicide by negligent
use of a vehicle and was sentenced to a maximum two-year sentence.

The bill would bring drugged driving into line with penalties for drunken
driving, providing a 40-year sentence for drugged drivers who cause a
death. The Assembly Judiciary Committee, which Gundrum heads, plans to vote
on the measure Thursday.