Tennessee now requires drunk drivers to pay child support if they kill a parent of a minor

Legislators in the Tennessee Senate passed a bill on Wednesday that would require drunk drivers convicted of vehicular homicide to pay child support if the victim of the offense was the parent of a minor.

According to local media outlets, the legislation passed unanimously after being amended to include the names of the children of Nicolas Galinger, a Chattanooga police officer who was killed by a drunk driver in February 2019, the Daily Wire reported.

Although HB 1834 previously passed in the state’s House, it has not yet been signed into law by Republican Gov. Bill Lee.

A summary of the legislation states that “if a defendant is convicted of vehicular homicide due to intoxication or aggravated vehicular homicide and the victim of the offense was the parent of a minor child,” then the sentencing court must make the defendant pay “restitution in the form of child maintenance to each of the victim’s children.”

The legislation further states that payments would continue until each of the children turns 18 years old and graduates from high school, “or the class of which the child is a member when the child reached 18 years of age has graduated.”

Payments are not written into the legislation, but rather are to be determined by the court after taking into account the “financial needs and resources of the child,” the financial demands of the child’s guardian or living parent, which also includes the state if applicable, and the “standard of living to which the child is accustomed.”

Officer Nicolas Galinger, 38, was killed in a hit-and-run in 2019 while inspecting a manhole cover. Court records show that the woman driving the car was found guilty of vehicular homicide by intoxication and was eventually sentenced to 11 years in prison.  

Although Hamilton County Criminal Court Judge Don W. Poole said he believed Hinds sincerely regretted killing Galinger, he noted that she “did intentionally drink before getting into her vehicle.”

Hinds has said she didn’t know she had hit a person that night and would have remained there if she had realized what had happened. She apologized to her family and the Galinger family when she spoke before listening to her sentence.

“I know this apology may be inadequate for the Galinger family,” said Hinds. “Nothing besides God will lessen the hurt that you feel, that I feel.”