A suspected drunken driver was involved in a crash that killed a mother and her two small children in lower downtown last fall. The tragedy still angers Rep. Joel Judd.

That's why the Denver Democrat is carrying a bill that would increase penalties for drunken driving and make in-car breath tests more prevalent.

Judd's House Bill 1189 calls for an automatic one-year license revocation for first-time drunken-driving offenders and a six-year revocation for a third offense.

The bill is scheduled to be heard in the House Judiciary Committee upon adjournment of the House today.

Representatives from Mothers Against Drunk Driving will testify during the hearing, Judd said.

Under the measure, convicted drunken drivers could shorten their revocation time if they have a breath-test device installed in their cars.

The devices measure blood-alcohol level and prevent the engine from starting if alcohol is detected.

In November, three members of the Bingham family were killed while crossing 15th Street and Arapahoe Avenue by suspected drunken driver Lawrence Trujillo.

Becca Bingham, 39, and her children, 4- year-old Macie and 2-year-old Garrison, died in the accident. Husband and father Frank Bingham was hit but survived.

The accident happened in Judd's district.

"I spent some time thinking about it and looking around to see what we can do to reduce the number of people getting run over and killed by drunk drivers," Judd said. "My first thought was that a person had to be sober enough to drive."

In part, the bill calls for the following:

• Mandatory revocation of driver's license for anyone convicted of vehicular homicide or vehicular assault.

• Revocation for one year for first violation, four years for second offense and six years for third DUI offense.

• Revocation for two years for first offense, six years for the second offense and eight years for the third offense, if the driver refuses to take a blood-alcohol-content test.

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