The debt of destruction

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MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Up next: a new bill in Missouri requires drunk drivers who are convicted of killing a parent, to pay child support.

It’s called Bentley and Mason’s Law, named after two children whose parents were killed by a drunk driver. Their grandmother created the legislation and started a movement.

WORLD’s Emma Eicher has the story.

EMMA EICHER: Five years ago, Sergeant Cody Umfress was on patrol when he approached a fiery two-car crash in Jefferson County, Missouri.

CODY UMFRESS: April 13, 2021, 10:05pm.

He was the first police officer at the scene.

UMFRESS: And there was flames 30 feet near, tree was on fire, vehicle was fully engulfed, and the ground was on fire. It was utter chaos.

Umfress radioed dispatch for backup and smashed a window to one of the burning vehicles, looking for passengers.

UMFRESS: I had flames come back and singe all the hair off my arm and that burn in my wrist. At one point in time, I heard, ‘Help me, help me!’ and crawling up out of the ditch was the other gentleman that was involved in the crash.

That man was drunk, injured, and angry. At the hospital, he was arrested for driving impaired.

He was the only survivor. The family in the other vehicle passed away: Cordell Williams, his fianceé Lacey, and their four month old child.

The tragedy affected Umfress personally.

UMFRESS: There's a lot of similarities in my life to this crash. I think that I was the cop that was meant to be there for a reason.

Umfress lost his own parents and his brother to a drunk driver when he was three years-old, the same age as Bentley, one of the surviving sons of Cordell Williams.

UMFRESS: I've had my favorite Bible verse tattooed on the inside of my upper left arm 10 years prior to this crash, and my favorite Bible verse is Philippians 4:13 and the date of the crash is 4/13.

The night of the accident, Cordell’s two other children, Bentley and Mason, were with their grandmother Cecilia.

CECILIA WILLIAMS: Thank God for that, because I probably would not be sitting here talking to you if all five of them would have perished.

Williams began researching drunk driving laws in Missouri.

WILLIAMS: You know, I wanted to know how much time this guy was going to get for killing my family.

In the state, Driving While Intoxicated that results in death is a felony. But Sergeant Umfress says impaired drivers often avoid jail time, even if they kill someone on the road.

So Cecilia Williams decided to take action.

WILLIAMS: And I thought to myself, you know, what can I do to make a difference, to help deter people, and also help families who are finding their self in a situation like mine, who are raising kids again? Because it's not easy financially.

Williams came up with legislation called Bentley’s Law. Under the law, if a person has been convicted of, or pled guilty to killing a parent while driving impaired, then a surviving guardian can file a petition to collect child support from the offender.

WILLIAMS: They've lost enough, so their way of life should not change.

If the person is unable to provide support while in prison, they have a year after release to begin providing payments.

WILLIAMS: It tells them, even though I'm not getting that money right now, that relief is coming.

Williams says the bill received widespread support from lawmakers and throughout the country.

WILLIAMS: A lot of people will tell me they are surprised that this is not a law yet, that it's something that should have been done years ago.

Sergeant Umfress has stayed actively involved in spreading awareness for Bentley’s Law, and later became an investigator for DWI crimes.

He’s kept a close relationship with the Williams family.

UMFRESS: We talk to the boys all the time. We've stood on the side of the highway with them on birthdays and anniversaries. They’ve become part of our family.

For Umfress, Bentley’s Law is a fulfillment of Philippians 4:13, which says: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

He was with Williams, Bentley, and Mason the day the bill passed on May 15th.

UMFRESS: It was a relief to know that out of tragedy, we could have something good come out of it. It's a great law, but it's a law that I hope never has to be used.

Williams says her work isn’t done, and she’s campaigning for more states to implement similar bills.

WILLIAMS: I hate why it started. I will always hate why it started, but knowing that my family in heaven is making a difference, they're making a difference.

The Cayman Islands, the Virgin Islands, and Guam have enacted laws that require impaired drivers to pay child support if an accident results in the death of a parent.

In 2022, Tennessee became the first state to enact a version of Bentley’s Law, and at least five other states have followed suit. More than a dozen states have introduced or drafted similar legislation.

The Missouri bill will come into effect on August 28th this year.

Reporting for WORLD, I’m Emma Eicher.

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