Staff Reports
The Tonawanda News
TOWN OF TONAWANDA —
Police made a Leandra’s Law related arrest Tuesday night for a town woman who was driving drunk with her young child in the car, police reported Wednesday.
Officers pulled over Tammie Renner, 42, of Woodland Drive, at about 8:30 p.m. Tuesday after a citizen reported that an intoxicated woman was driving with a young child in the car.
After initiating a traffic stop, officers determined that Renner was drunk and did have a 5-year-old in the car. Renner refused to take a breath test.
Leandra’s Law makes it a felony for anyone to drive while intoxicated or under the influence of drugs with children in the car.
In addition, police said Renner has two previous drunk driving convictions in four years. Town police arrested Renner in August 2006 and charged her with DWI after determining that her blood-alcohol content was 0.24 percent.
Renner faces three felony DWI charges, including one for having multiple convictions within a 10-year period. She is also charged with aggravated DWI for having a passenger under the age of 16 in the car.
That charge was made a felony in New York state in December, when Gov. David Paterson signed the Child Passenger Protection Act, more commonly known as Leandra’s Law.
The final provision of Leandra’s Law took effect Aug. 15 and mandates that all drivers convicted of misdemeanor and felony drunk driving charges install ignition interlock devices for at least six months. New York is one of 10 states that mandates ignition interlock devices, even for first time offenders.
Renner was arraigned on the charges Wednesday in town court.
