Florida Senator Darren Soto has made the commitment to sponsor a traffic safety law proposed in the name of former UCF student Chloe Arenas. The move comes one month after a tragic accident that occurred just three miles from UCF, near a 408 exit ramp to Alafaya Trail.
On June 28, 2015, Arenas had her life cut short after losing control of her vehicle, becoming victim to a drowning where she was unable to escape from her submerged car. There was no guardrail to stop her from plunging into the pond.
Soto, family and friends of the biomedical-sciences student began the journey of proposing legislation in hopes of preventing loss of life in victims of future accidents.
The state senator expressed the need for change in preventing retention-pond deaths, stating that victims of drowning incidents have been a continuing tragedy. His statement follows the emergence of high-profile cold cases solved in the last month in Florida, including a missing Navy sailor found in an accident that occurred in 2003, and a missing 36-year-old woman found in an accident that occurred in 1990.
Senator Soto detailed his plan of introducing the law to KnightNews.com.
“I have begun the process by requesting the Florida Department of Transportation re-examine their guardrail assessment standards,” Soto said. “Their response will be critical to crafting new legislation based upon any shortfalls which exist in the current standards.”
Once a bill has been filed, it will be assigned to several committees. Senator Soto will then present the bill to the committees while a member of the Florida House of Representatives continues the same process in the House.
Working alongside Soto is Clarissa Lindsey, Arenas’ best friend since they were two years old, who began a Change.org petition that has received 50,000 signatures and has been featured on the non-profit’s home page. A proponent to the law, Lindsey aims to implement the plan statewide.
“I met with Senator Soto on Tuesday and he has passionately committed to sponsor Chloe’s Law and introduce it to the Florida Senate during the upcoming session in January,” said Lindsey. “He has started the process by sending a letter to Florida Department of Transportation that asked them to review guardrail standards and placement. While awaiting a response to that letter, I will continue to search for a House Representative that expresses the same diligence and dedication as Senator Soto. Our petition on Change.org has reached 50,000 signatures and has signatures from every state in the nation. We are so thankful to everyone for the overwhelming amount of continued support and outreach we have received.”
Arenas, on a path to becoming a veterinarian, began at UCF in the summer of 2012. She had a passion to treat zoo and domestic animals alike, with dreams of one day treating elephants in Africa, says Lindsey. A dream Arenas will never realize, Lindsey looks to honor her friend through the bill as well as honor the victims of past drownings.
“I will follow up on the issue with our Senate Transportation Policy Committee this fall during committee meetings – I expect to have a bill filed before the end of this year,” continued Soto.
“My condolences go out to her family and friends and my actions over the next few months will be my greatest contribution to her memory.”
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Bill’s official filing – ‘Traffic Safety Law Officially Filed in Memory of UCF Knight’
