Slain Girl's Father Pushes for Tougher Drunk-Driving Laws

A vegetable patch in Chelsea, New York, was renamed Leandra's Garden on Thursday as Leandra Rosado’s father renewed calls for tougher laws against drunken drivers. Leandra, 11, was killed when her friend’s mother drove drunk and crashed with seven young girls in the car.

"My daughter will never be able to say to me, 'I love you Daddy,'" Lenny Rosado said outside the Robert Fulton Houses in Chelsea, where he raised her.

Rosado then lambasted the punishment faced by Carmen Huertas, the Bronx mother charged with manslaughter for causing the wreck that killed Leandra and endangered six other girls.

"For me, seven to 15 [years] was a slap in my face," Rosado said. "I will continue to fight for justice and tougher laws so this will never happen again."

Outrage that Huertas does not face a stiffer punishment led Leandra's dad and the Daily News to push for "Leandra's Law," which would make it a felony to drive drunk with passengers under age 16.

"Leandra's law, Leandra's law," chanted the more than 75 friends, relatives and neighbors of Leandra in attendance for the dedication ceremony, after her father spoke.

Kayla Fernandez, 11, who survived the horrific Oct. 11 crash, was also present.  "It's very beautiful," Kayla said of the garden. "I'd do anything for her."

Authorities say Huertas had a blood-alcohol level of 0.132 when she crashed the car full of little girls on the Henry Hudson Parkway.

Huertas hit speeds topping 70 mph and ignored the pleas of her daughter Brittany to slow down before the fatal wreck.

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