Ava's Law Passes - WMDT 47 News - Delmarva's Choice

Ava's Law Passes

OCEAN CITY, Md. - A big milestone in the fight against drivers under the influence of drugs - Ava's law passed in the general assembly.

The law enhances the penalties for drugged driving,  making them more in line with the penalties for driving under the influence of alcohol.  The bill increases the amount of jail time from 2 years to 3 and raises the fine from $3000 to $5000.

A horrific accident left 2-year-old baby Ava Delricco in critical condition and hospitalized for months. Andre Kaczynski stands accused of being high on PCP when he reportedly slammed into the back of the Delricco's 2 door car, trapping Ava and her mother inside and just barely hanging on to their lives.

The community rallied together to support and fundraise for the Delricco family. And now that Ava's law has passed, they feel that their efforts have paid off. Folks at the Pour house who raised nearly $10,000 for the Delricco fund were happy to hear the news. "It just shows that the town of Ocean City. I mean, we're a very small community, but we always come together for a good cause and we always come together to take action. It's slight of a good thing coming out of dark times through the incident," said John Paul Reho, General Manager, The Pour House.

Kaczynski faces several criminal charges, but he's currently out on bail awaiting trial in June. The Worcester County State's Attorney fought to have Kazcynski's case upgraded from the district court to the circuit court level back in March. He faces 2 separate sets of charges - one for the crash, and one for the drugs.