Ky. bill makes DUI drivers pay child support for killing, disabling a parent

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (CNN NEWSOURCE) — “She was personable, prom queen, in high school, loved everybody.”

This is Melanie Hull. A young mother with an entire joyous life ahead of her alongside her son, Nolan.

“Melanie was a fantastic mom. Everything she did revolved around this little guy.”

But on July 1st, 2022, as Hull was taking Nolan to daycare, her SUV was struck on Shelbyville Road and North Madison Avenue.

Reports indicate the driver that hit them, Amber Washington was high on meth when she ran a red light.

Nolan, barely 7 at the time, undone his seatbelt to try to help his mom.

He had to be cut out of the vehicle.

“She is totally disabled, unable to speak for the most part other than yeah, or maybe no once in a while, can’t do anything for herself.”

But her son, with his mother’s cousin, Sen. David Yates, Mothers Against Drunk Driving, Gov. Andy Beshear and lawmakers at his side, became her voice in passing Senate Bill 268.

“We’re here to keep her legacy moving forward and helping other people not to have to go through what this family has had to go through.”

Melanie’s Law will now make DUI drivers financially responsible for the children of the people they kill or disable.

It’s the first in the country to go as far.

To Yates, a painful and personal reminder of the reasons behind a governor’s signature.

“By making the choice to drink and drive or drive high that you are really putting someone’s life in jeopardy and not just that person, everyone who loves them and depends on them.”

This bill is modeled after Bentley’s Law from Tennessee.

It was the first of its kind, providing financial support to a child who lost their father in 2015 in a DUI crash.