'Deana's Law' Repeat DUI Bills Reintroduced In Harrisburg

DELAWARE COUNTY, PA — Deana Eckman was killed by David Matthew Strowhouer in Upper Chichester on Feb. 16, 2019 who was driving under the influence. It was his sixth arrest for DUI.

On the heels of Eckman's death, State Sen. Tom Killion introduced a bill known as "Deana's Law," which sought to crack down on repeat DUI offenders.

However, the bill never made it to law.

Now, State Rep. Chris Quinn of Delaware County and State Sen. Bob Mensch have reintroduced "Deana's Law" to honor the 45-year-old Brookhaven woman's death while creating harsher penalties for DUI offenders.

Quinn and Mensch, whose district covers parts of Berks, Bucks, and Montgomery counties, announced senate and house versions of the bills last week.

Senate and House bills 773 are numbered in honor of Eckman's birth month and year.

The house version increases penalties for those convicted of third or subsequent DUIs and requires consecutive sentencing for those offenders.

"Had the individual convicted of Deana’s murder been serving consecutive sentences, he would have still been imprisoned at the time of her death," said Quinn. "Every DUI represents a potential homicide, and our laws should reflect that reality. Enacting Deana’s Law will better protect Pennsylvanians from the worst of the worst repeat DUI offenders."

The senate version would increase grading for certain repeat DUI offenders, ensure consecutive sentences are imposed to certain repeat DUI offenders, and offer substance monitoring program evaluations for repeat DUI offenders as a condition of probation, parole, or bail.

"Just a little over two years ago, Deana Eckman was reprehensibly murdered by an individual who was then convicted of his sixth DUI," Mensch said. "It is unacceptable that we allow people to continually drive while impaired. If we know there’s an impairment, we need to deal with it up front and much more effectively than we do. It is imperative that the legislature do everything in our power to keep those who have numerous DUIs off the roads. Doing so will protect the lives of many and will hopefully ensure that something like what happened to Deana does not happen to anyone else."

Unlike the senate version, the house version does not address monitoring devices.

Strowhouer, 32, of Newtown Square pleaded guilty to third-degree murder, homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence, and a host of other felonies and has been sentenced to 25 to 50 years in prison.

The head-on crash also seriously injured Eckman's husband Chris.

"It was two years on February 16, 2021, that a drunk driver with five prior DUIs, killed our daughter in a horrific crash," Echman's father Rich DeRosa said. "Please pass this bill to spare any other family from this living hell."

Senate Bill 773 currently has bi-partisan support with 18 co-sponsors and has been referred to the Senate Transportation Committee. House Bill 773 also has bi-partisan co-sponsors.