Legislation inspired by man who drowned following prank heads to state Legislature

Legislation inspired by man who drowned following prank heads to state Legislature

Legislation inspired by the death of an Ossining man who drowned when a prank went horribly wrong is headed to the state Legislature.
Ossining's Sheila Lilley says her son, Bryan Johnson, drowned in 2012 after a group of people went out on a boat for a late-night swim at Orchard Beach in the Bronx. She says they were intoxicated when the driver pulled a prank and drove away, leaving Johnson in the water. By the time they got back, it was too late.
"Kids need to learn the safety of a boat and should know what they should do and should not do," says Thomasina Laidley-Brown, Johnson's grandmother.
Bryan Johnson's Law is headed to the state Senate and Assembly for a vote. Sen. David Carlucci, the bill's sponsor, says it allows judges sentencing a DWI case to also consider boating while intoxicated.
"The idea here is to send a harsh message so say you cannot drink and drive and you cannot drink and operate a boat successfully," says Sen. David Carlucci.
Carlucci says there has been over 200 fatalities in New York waterways in the past decade. Johnson's family is hopeful his story will make a difference.
"I feel like my son accomplished something," says Lilley. "That he didn't die in vain. That he is making a difference."
Carlucci hopes Gov. Andrew Cuomo signs the bill into law by Memorial Day.