A Butler County jury decided last week that 52-year-old Bruce Stanko of Hampton Township, Allegheny County, was not guilty of homicide by vehicle while intoxicated, as well as reckless endangerment. However, the state shouldn't allow Stanko to drive any more.

Instead, his driving privilege should be revoked permanently.

The charges for which Stanko was acquitted were in regard to a two-car crash on Jan. 18, 2005, that claimed the life of Linda Jenkins, a waitress who was five months pregnant at the time of her death.

While Stanko was acquitted of the homicide and reckless-endangerment charges, the jury did convict him of two counts of drunken driving, charges that Stanko's defense team conceded from the start of the trial.

State police testified that a blood-alcohol test administered to Stanko in the aftermath of the crash showed a reading of 0.21 percent — more than double the state's legal limit of 0.08 percent.

Just as troubling is the fact that Stanko, reportedly a pharmaceutical company owner, has at least two other prior drunken-driving convictions.

The state and criminal justice system should have taken tough action against him when he showed he couldn't refrain from drinking and driving after his first brush with the law.

It would be a travesty if that didn't happen now — regardless of the homicide verdict and regardless of what travel his business requires.

State law didn't allow prosecutors to mention his prior convictions during the just-completed trial. Nor were prosecutors permitted to introduce the fact that Jenkins was pregnant at the time of her death.

During the trial, the prosecution failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Stanko actually had caused the fatal crash. The defense presented testimony from a forensic engineer who said a gouge mark left on the road proved that it was Jenkins who left her lane of travel and caused the crash.

If that is what the evidence showed, the jury had no recourse but to opt for the homicide-by-vehicle acquittal. However, that doesn't resolve a scenario in which, had Stanko been sober, he might have been able to react quickly enough to avoid the crash.

The fact that Stanko was driving while drunk demonstrated arrogance regarding his own and others' well-being — as well as the law.

That is why it is essential for the court and state transportation officials to keep Stanko from getting behind the wheel again.

If they don't, it will be almost as tragic as the crash that took Jenkins' life.