Operation Open Arms Florida Support to Military Troops

Soldier's Law Signed - The Beougher Bill

By Lindsay Liepman, WINK News

Story Created: Jul 8, 2008 at 4:05 PM EDT
Story Updated: Jul 8, 2008 at 8:41 PM EDT
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA - A soldier's death on Southwest Florida roadways, outraged the community and sparked action.

Danny Beougher was killed by a hit and run driver.

Police say Ashley East didn't have a license, was drunk and was driving a borrowed vehicle.

Now a new law has been signed by the governor to prevent this and it's already in effect.

He was told it couldn't be done, but Commissioner Bob Janes and State leaders Sen. Burt Saunders and Rep. Gary Aubuchon, helped Captain John Bunch pass the Beougher Bill.

"The fat lady has sung and the governor has signed it," said Capt. Bunch.

It would have penalized the person who lent Ashley East a vehicle, the night police say she drove drunk and killed Beougher.

"We want to make sure that this type of tragedy doesn't happen to any other family," said Senator Saunders.

Senator Saunders supported the bill in the Florida Senate, while Representative Aubuchon headed it up in the house.

"If you loan your car to someone who does not have a driver's license, and you know they don't have a driver's license, then you will lose your license for one year. Plus there is a small fine and potential for jail time. I think folks will think twice before loaning their car," said Sen. Saunders.

"It was wonderful that Captain Bunch came forward with it. Part of being successful in the legislature is having a passion. He brought forth the passion and the desire to get this done. His timing was excellent as he approached us coming right into the legislative session and it feels wonderful that we were able to accomplish that," said Rep. Aubuchon.

Capt. Bunch says he did it for the Beougher's and the safety of your family. "This will prevent people from indiscriminately loan their car to an unlicensed driver who is an accident ready to happen," said Capt. Bunch.

From the Cape Coral Breeze - March 2008

Soldier’s death in hit-and-run leads to proposed legislation
By CONNOR HOLMES, cholmes@breezenewspapers.com

A bill that would make vehicle owners who knowingly lend their cars to unlicensed drivers lose their license for a year has been filed in the wake of a hit-and-run that took the life of Army Staff Sgt, Daniel Beougher.

The husband, son and decorated soldier lost his life in North Fort Myers on Dec. 8, 2007.

Police say Ashley East crashed a truck into Beougher’s Jeep, killing him, leaving his wife Lauren Beougher in critical condition and her passenger injured in the truck.Police say East fled the scene on foot.

East, 25, who is in the Lee County Jail on various charges including felony hit-and-run, also was charged with being unlicensed at the time of the crash.

She has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial.

Beougher was on military leave from Fort Bragg in North Carolina when he was killed. Back from service in Iraq, he had driven down to the area to visit his family. He was on Hancock Bridge Parkway when East reportedly crossed the median into his lane of travel and hit his vehicle head-on.

Now, in the wake of Daniel’s death, Lauren’s slow recovery in Delaware and a family’s grief, there are those who say it’s time to change the law to make the penalties for those who hand over the car keys to an unlicensed driver tougher.

John “GiddyUp” Bunch, the founder of Operation Open Arms, and state senators Burt Saunders and Carey Baker are among those leading the fight.

Bunch said he came to know the Beoughers through Operation Open Arms, a group he founded to provide free fishing and amenities to soldiers on leave from Iraq and Afghanistan.

“I promised Lauren (Beougher) that I would be here to fight on her behalf,” said Bunch. “I was incensed that this man (the owner of the truck East is alleged to have been driving) handed Ashley East the keys to his car.”

Lauren is recovering in Delaware, said Bunch.

Bunch said he spoke with Saunders about the idea and Saunders took the amendment to Carey Baker to attach it to an existing transportation bill.

The original bill provides that it is illegal in Florida to knowingly lend your vehicle to an unlicensed driver, but Bunch said it’s currently only a misdemeanor, something he calls a “slap on the wrist.”

“If someone wants to take the risk of loaning their car to an unlicensed driver, this law (the proposed amended bill) will make them weigh that risk very, very heavily,” said Bunch.

Saunders said Friday the bill is “a pretty guaranteed bill to be passed.” It is likely to pass on the floor in about two weeks and will go to the governor at the end of the legislative session.

“I agreed with Captain Bunch that we needed to tighten up the law,” said Saunders, who said Beougher’s death has drawn a lot of attention from citizens to the issue.

Saunders said a key component to the proposed bill is owner knowledge. He said the license suspension would be applied depending on if the driver knowingly allowed their vehicle to be driven by an unlicensed driver who has gotten into an accident.

“This has not been forgotten,” said Bunch about Beougher’s death. “My position in this fight is Lauren’s position in this fight; this fight is going to be a lot easier for me if I have all of Cape Coral behind me.”

Bunch said Operation Open Arms led the struggle to get Lauren back to Delaware as soon as she was released from the hospital. The organization had an RV waiting for her after receiving 228 phone calls, 42 promised drivers, and even a professional car thief who offered to steal an RV for Lauren, he said.

“Contact Sen. Saunders, contact Sen. Baker, say we need this law passed because we want to protect our children,” said Bunch about what Cape citizens should do to help.

Captain GiddyUp authors Amendment to Senate Bill 1992. Passed by Senate/House. Gov Crist to sign"

Many of the proposed bills in Florida’s 60-day legislative session will be voted into law by May 2, while many others will have to be withdrawn and redrafted to potentially live another day in the 2009 session.

Breeze Newspapers has been following a number of bills that have roots here in the area, including a bill that would levy a one-year suspension to those who lend their car to an unlicensed driver, one that would require school districts to deal with student bullies, and one that would expand the rights of grandparents whose grandchildren are in abusive situations.

Each was proposed as the result of a death — that of an Iraqi-war veteran who died in a car crash police say was caused by a drunk, unlicensed driver; that of a teen a Cape mother says died by his own hand due to bullying; a child beaten to death despite family warnings of abuse.

All are moving toward passage officials say.

Legislation spurred by soldier’s death passes in Senate; captain’s work bolstered support from local officials

By CONNOR HOLMES

cholmes@breezenewspapers.com

Since U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Daniel Beougher died in a hit-and-run car wreck in North Fort Myers last Dec. 8, charter captain John “Giddyup” Bunch has shown his passion for the Beougher family by pushing for legislature that would leave those who lend their cars to unlicensed drivers faced with stiffer penalties.

Bunch’s hard work is beginning to pay off: What has been coined the “Beougher Bill” recently passed through the State Senate and will now be voted on by the House of Representatives, said Bunch. The bill is an amendment to HB 1992 that would strengthen the misdemeanor offense of allowing an unlicensed person to drive to a one-year license suspension.

“Given the kind of reception this thing got in the Senate, I don’t foresee any opposition in the House,” said Bunch Friday.

Beougher was killed on Hancock Bridge Parkway when a truck police say was driven by Ashley East crossed into his lane of traffic, striking his Jeep, killing him, and leaving his wife Lauren critically injured. East, who officials say had a .089 blood alcohol content and was unlicensed when the crash occurred, reportedly fled the scene on foot also leaving behind a female passenger in the truck she is alleged to have borrowed. East was eventually arrested in New Jersey and extradited to Lee County, where she faces numerous charges, including DUI manslaughter.

Sen. Burt Saunders and State Rep. Gary Aubuchon are credited with bringing the proposed amendment to Tallahassee in hope of seeing it passed into Florida law, but Bunch said it wasn’t easy, at first, to convince Saunders to support the amendment.

Bunch said Saunders initially found the law on the books, which makes allowing an unlicensed person to drive a misdemeanor offense, to be acceptable.

“I went to his (Saunders’) Web site and saw a picture of his three boys, and asked him ‘What if one of your boys was taken from you? Then would you want to change the legislation?’” said Bunch.

Saunders said Friday he didn’t oppose the idea behind the amendment, but rather the difficulties were in the timing of the proposal.

“I wasn’t sure how we were going to deal with it,” said Saunders. “It was fairly late in the session; we had filing deadlines in January.”

But, Saunders said, they were able to get the amendment onto a larger transportation bill.

“I have very little doubt it will pass,” Saunders said of the bill.

Saunders called Bunch instrumental in bringing the proposed amendment to the attention of lawmakers and politicians.

Bunch also credits county commissioners Bob Janes, Tammy Hall and Ray Judah for their strong support of the proposed legislation from early on.

“I give tremendous credit to Giddyup (Bunch) for getting the bill passed this late in the session,” said Janes. “He did 99.9 percent of the work himself; it just goes to show, an individual can make a difference.”

Janes said he became involved with the amendment after speaking with Bunch on various occasions.

“I could feel his intensity almost immediately,” he said.

“The reason I am passionate is because I promised (Lauren Beougher, Daniel’s wife) I would see this through,” said Bunch. “This (Daniel) is a kid who had served two tours in Iraq, and one tour in Afghanistan.”

Bunch said the owner of the truck East allegedly was driving when the accident occurred, told police he was sleeping at home when East took his vehicle without permission.

But Bunch said he finds that hard to believe.

“I’d like to see his cell phone records to see if he talked to anyone when it happened,” said Bunch.

Bunch said he’s currently trying to lobby the State Attorney’s Office to charge the man with allowing an unlicensed person to drive his truck with a misdemeanor, as provided by current law.