Baylea’s Law moving along in House Judiciary Committee
By Autumn Shelton, RealWV
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The West Virginia House Judiciary Committee is moving a bill that would increase the penalties for those who cause a death while driving under the influence. The new section of state law would be named after Baylea Bower, a 24-year-old Boone County resident who was killed in a car wreck on Easter Sunday in 2025.
House Bill 4712, Baylea’s Law, was introduced on January 21 by Del. Josh Holstein, R-Boone, and moved for markup and discussion on Friday. The markup and discussion is scheduled to occur on Monday, Feb. 16.
The proposed bill would increase the felony penalty for any person who drives a vehicle in an impaired state causing the death of any person from three to fifteen years imprisonment to five to thirty years. It would also increase the fine from $1,000-$3,000 to $2,000 to $6,000.
Family friend, Steve Lewis, was present before the committee to discuss the bill’s meaning.
According to Lewis, on April 20, 2025, at 3 a.m., he received the call that Bower had been killed in a car accident.
“Baylea is the daughter of our friends, who we consider to be family,” Lewis said. “She’s like a daughter to me. When I introduced her to someone it was always, ‘This is my niece, Baylea,’ which was always followed by a big smile from her.”
Lewis continued that Bower was driving along the Coalfield Expressway when she was hit head-on by a driver who was under the influence of alcohol and cocaine.
“In the blink of an eye, at the hands of a woman named Destany Lester, a 19-year-old woman from Raleigh County, Destany made the decision to drink with an excessive amount of alcohol, use cocaine, and get behind the wheel,” Lewis said. “She was known for this in the area. It was not her first time, to my knowledge. Baylea was travelling North on the Coalfields Expressway on her way to be with her family on Easter morning.”
Lewis added that Lester was traveling South, “ran-off the road,” hit a guardrail, went across the median and “struck Baylea head-on.”
“According to officers that were on the scene, [Lester] was traveling in excess of 90 miles per hour and never touched the brakes,” Lewis said. “Baylea died on impact. Destany survived.”
On February 12, Lester was sentenced in Raleigh County Circuit Court to a suspended sentence of three to fifteen years, pending successful completion of a six to 24 month sentence in the youthful offender program at Anthony Correctional Center, according to Lewis, who was speaking to the best of his knowledge regarding the sentence.
“Upon completion of that program, to my understanding, she will walk away from this,” Lewis said, adding that must serve a six month home confinement as well.
After Lewis explained the sentencing, Del. Bill Ridenhour, R-Jefferson, spoke regarding the bill.
“I’m sorry to the Baylea family for what happened to you as a result of our judicial system,” Ridenhour said. “This shouldn’t happen here.”
Del. Scot C. Heckert, R – Wood, also offered his thoughts.
“I would also like to say I’m sorry for what you all have been through, and I really want to say that I commend you all for carrying on this fight and staying with it and not giving up,” Heckert said. “I feel very confident that we can try to correct, we can’t fix what’s already been done, but maybe we can help another family to not have to go through what you all have had to go through.”
House Judiciary Chair J.B. Akers, R-Kanawha, added that Del. Holstein has been an advocate for this bill.
“I know yesterday didn’t work out the way you wanted it to,” Akers said of the sentencing. “But, we hope this provides you with a little comfort that we prioritized this bill today. Lots of other bills will never see the light of day in the capitol, but Del. Holstein made sure that this one did.”
