PLYMOUTH TOWNSHIP -- A father who pushed for tougher hit and run laws after his son was killed by a driver who had been drinking in Luzerne County is now being charged with DUI himself.
Dr. Stephen Miller is a dentist in Wilkes-Barre.
Police say the DUI stop happened on Route 11 in Plymouth Township just after 9 p.m. last month, when officers noticed Miller's headlights were off. Miller, who's a dentist in Wilkes-Barre, also faces two counts of endangering the welfare of children, for driving under the influence with his two kids in the car.
Walk into Senator Lisa Baker's officer in Dallas, and one of the first photos you might see is one hanging on a wall at the front desk from a newspaper clipping. In the middle is Caroline Miller, wiping a tear from her face. She and her husband, Stephen, pushed for Kevin's law, after their 5-year-old was killed in a hit and run crash in Wilkes-Barre just before Christmas in 2012. Police say the driver had been drinking that night. It toughens the penalty for leaving the scene of a hit and run.
“It was extremely tough, a lot of our legislators are against to imposing mandatory minimums, or adjusting them, at this point in time, due to the overcrowding of the prison population,” said Sam Sanguedolce, a Luzerne County A.D.A.
That's why the drunk driving charge filed against Kevin’s dad, Stephen, is causing some outrage.
A state representative for mothers against drunk driving told Newswatch 16: “We are saddened any time we hear someone has made the choice to drive drunk, especially an individual who may be seen as a role model."
"At this point, they're allegations,” Sanguedolce said. “I haven't seen any paperwork on it, so our office can't comment on anything related to that.”
His preliminary hearing is set for August 17.
