Requires drunk driver to pay restitution on behalf of child if parent or guardian is killed by that driver.

This bill (S 1439) would require a drunk driver convicted of causing a fatal accident to pay financial restitution directly to a minor child if the victim was the child’s parent or guardian. Specifically, it adds a new provision to New Jersey’s vehicular homicide law, mandating that drivers violating DUI laws (N.J.S. 39:4-50) must cover the child’s losses through court-ordered restitution - on top of existing criminal penalties and other restitution. The bill applies only to cases where the driver was intoxicated at the time of the fatal crash and the deceased was the child’s legal guardian. It is currently pending in the New Jersey Senate Judiciary Committee.