A four-time convicted drunken driver has been charged with DUI again after leading state police on a late-night, high-speed pursuit Aug. 30 that ended in a field in northern Butler County, where he lost control of his car.

Legislators are trying to close a “loophole” in state law that allows habitual DUI offenders from getting behind the steering wheel again.

“Deana’s Law” was unveiled late last month. It is an amendment to the state vehicle code that increases penalties for repeat DUI offenders.

It is named after Deana Eckman, a 45-year-old Philadelphia-area women who was killed in February after her vehicle was struck head-on by one driven by a six-time drunken driver who had a blood-alcohol level more that double the legal definition of drunken driving.

He was traveling at more than 80 mph in a residential area when the crash occurred.

The proposed legislation would add new layers to DUI prosecution in the state, including a mandatory requirement for drivers with three or more DUI convictions to wear electronic alcohol ankle monitors as a condition of probation.

The SCRAM ankle bracelet continuously monitors an offender’s drinking behavior by passively testing for alcohol 24/7.

Butler County already uses SCRAM ankle bracelets.

The proposed legislation also would impound the vehicles of drivers arrested for DUI who have three or more convictions and would require multiple DUI sentences to be served consecutively, not concurrently.

We support the Legislature’s effort to curb drunken drivers by making it difficult for repeat offenders to climb behind the wheel.