A Long Island dad is lobbying Albany for mandatory drug and alcohol testing of all drivers involved in accidents that cause serious injury or death.
Phillip Walker's 26-year-old son James was struck and killed while crossing a street in Brightwaters on Oct. 16, 2011, seven months before he would have graduated New York College of Osteopathic Medicine.
"I couldn't sleep, couldn't eat, couldn't do anything," the father says. "I was devastated."
Walker says the driver was never tested for drugs or alcohol, although a police report says officers found Adderall in the car.
"The police did nothing," Walker says. "They didn't write a citation. They didn't do any drug testing."
For the past six years, Walker says he has been pushing for a state law that would require mandatory blood testing for drivers involved in accidents that result in serious injuries or deaths.
The bill has fallen short of passage several times in the past few years. The state Assembly will vote on it again Tuesday.
"I'm hoping that this is the year it goes through, but if it doesn't, I'm not going to stop," Walker says.