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.