WEST CHESTER, Ohio — A piece of legislation near and dear to many Tri-State families is making its way through the Ohio Statehouse.
House Bill 203, named Aspen's Law, could stiffen the penalties for distracted driving in a school zone.
The bill comes after two crashes involving Lakota Local School District students walking to and from school. The bill's namesake, Aspen Runnels, was hit and killed while in a crosswalk at the intersection of Bethany Road and Liberty Court near Lakota East High School in May 2024.
“We can’t repeat history," Christina Alcorn, Runnels' mother, told WCPO. "If we repeat history, then we’re not learning anything.”
In December, the woman who hit and killed Runnels was sentenced to 30 days in jail, followed by house arrest and probation, for the crash. For Alcorn, House Bill 203 is both a reminder of an unforgettable tragedy in her recent past and a tool to increase driver accountability in the future.
“Hopefully, this will be a deterrent," Alcorn said.
WATCH: We break down the bill here
Aspen's Law would change several things for traffic offenses that occur in active school zones, including:
- Increase the penalties for vehicular manslaughter and vehicular assault that involve speeding or the commission of a traffic offense in an active school zone. Punishment would go from a first-degree misdemeanor to a fourth-degree felony.
- Double the fine for certain traffic offenses that occur in an active school zone. Fines would now be up to $5,000.
- Establish additional requirements for driver’s license reinstatement that apply to an offender who committed vehicular homicide or assault in an active school zone, including completion of a remedial driving course.
- Establish requirements governing the posting of signage in school zones warning motorists of the bill’s increased penalties.
Alcorn and fellow Butler County mother Trisha Parnell have been at the forefront of the movement to stiffen the penalty for distracted driving while in a school zone. Parnell’s daughter, Maddy Beare, was hit by a car near Lakota West High in 2018, suffering severe injuries and becoming unable to walk for weeks.
“I think that it is making this community feel like they’re not alone because these parents are in fear," Parnell said. "It’s scary, you don’t know what day you’re going to get that phone call.”
The legislation is now in the Ohio State House Judiciary Committee.
“I want to prevent somebody else from grieving like how I’m grieving right now," said Alcorn. "And I want to make sure the next person that has to go through this feels a little bit more justice.”
