Cicarella Applauds Senate Passage of Bill to Promote Child Safety

EAST HAVEN, CT — State Sen. Paul Cicarella, a Republican who represents East Haven, applauded the Senate's unanimous passage of S.B. 608, which seeks to increase safety for children when buying ice cream from frozen dessert trucks. The bill has bipartisan support from lawmakers and was written in response to a fatal incident in Cheshire involving a Wallingford child last summer.

The bill now will appear before the House for a vote. Cicarella introduced the bill on behalf of a Wallingford family who lost their son Tristan Barhorst, 10, in a June 2020 incident.

Cicarella thanked the Carrano and Barhorst family for "their bravery and advocacy for this bill."

"When I first heard about this situation I was working on a similar case in my private business. I was shocked to find that there were not existing common-sense safety measures for these trucks to protect pedestrians, especially young children," he said in a news release.

"I'm happy that our Transportation Committee and all Senate colleagues have worked together to honor Tristan's memory to possibly save the lives of other children. Many children have also suffered injuries, some permanent and life-altering, each year, yet we have not heard about them. Connecticut is the only state in our area that does not have existing safety measures in place; this bill is common-sense," Cicarella said. "I am hopeful that a positive can come out of this tragedy."

Cicarella represents Connecticut's 34th Senate District that includes the towns of Durham, East Haven, North Haven and Wallingford.