Jun 15, 2009 10:54 am US/Eastern
Toddler Death Fuels Push To Test Elderly Drivers
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
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4-year-old Diya Patel was killed while riding her scooter in a crosswalk.
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The death of a 4-year-old girl from Stoughton is adding fuel to a call for stricter regulations for elderly drivers in Massachusetts.
4-YEAR-OLD KILLED
Diya Patel died Sunday, one day after
she was hit by a car while crossing the street with her family. That car was driven by 88-year-old Ilse Horn of Canton; her license has now been revoked.
The toddler was on a scooter Saturday morning, when she, her grandfather, and two siblings crossed Washington Street in a crosswalk. Witnesses say the impact from the crash threw the little girl 50 to 60 feet.
PROPOSAL FOR NEW RULES
State Sen. Brian Joyce, whose district includes Stoughton, has been pushing for years for legislation to require further testing for elderly drivers. He hopes to get a hearing this week for a bill that would require drivers 85 and older to take road and vision tests when it's time to renew their license.
"The current law is just crazy," he said. "Here in Massachusetts, we take a drivers' test at age 16-and-a-half and then never again. The only requirement under current law is that a person pass a very simple vision test every 10 years. Essentially, if you can tell the difference between red and green at age 90 then you're good to go until you're 100, and that's crazy."
Referring to a recent series of high-profile accidents involving elderly drivers, culminating in the death of Diya Patel, Joyce said, "If this doesn't get us to act, I don't know what the hell will."
RECENT CRASHES
In the last two weeks there have two other very serious accidents apparently caused by senior drivers.
In Plymouth, a 73-year-old woman crashed into a crowd that had gathered at the Vietnam Moving Wall. Seven people were injured, though none of the injuries were life threatening.
In Danvers, a one-year-old was critically injured when a car driven by a 93-year-old man crashed through the front of Wal-Mart.
The drivers in all three accidents had their licenses revoked by the Registry of Motor Vehicles, citing an 'immediate threat'.
According to the Registry of Motor Vehicles, there are currently 183,000 licensed drivers in the state 80-years and older.
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