North Brunswick Abilities Council

Stephen's Law: Wheelchairs must be secured in vehicles
Stephen Griscti, of No. Bruns., is inspiration for legislation
BY JENNIFER AMATO Staff Writer

Stephen Griscti

NORTH BRUNSWICK — Stephen Griscti, 40, a township resident, was born with tuberous sclerosis, a condition that at its worst causes seizures, mental retardation and manifests itself in tumors on major organs. This chromosomal developmental disability has left Stephen in a wheelchair and unable to speak.

In 2000, Stephen was involved in an accident in which his wheelchair fell over in the group-home van he was riding in because either the belt was missing or his driver did not secure it. He suffered a broken femur.

Stephen's story has inspired Stephen's Law, which Gov. Jon Corzine signed into law Sept. 9. It applies penalties to drivers who do not properly secure their disabled passengers.

"It wasn't fair that your average everyday person has a law that protects them with seatbelts but our children had nothing," said Marge Griscti, Stephen's mother. "I think besides being excited, it was a relief that our children finally have the protection everybody else has."

The bill states that a driver could receive a $100 fine as a secondary offense if the securement devices are not fastened. The second part of the bill, which Griscti hopes is signed into law by the end of the year, will focus on proper staff training for those who transport wheelchair passengers.

Griscti, Robin Turner, of North Brunswick, and Diane Gruskowski, of Carteret, have been advocating for the rights of the disabled for more than 30 years as part of the Family Alliance to Stop Abuse & Neglect. They have heard countless stories of other accidents and injuries to the developmentally disabled, the wheelchair-bound, senior citizens, and children in wheelchairs on school buses, which propelled them to take legal action.

Their mission began in 1976 when the women and several other mothers met with governmental representatives to find better ways for securement. Griscti said that at the time facilities did use tiedowns when asked, but they were belts used during World War II to carry tanks across the ocean, and there was not a statewide mandate.

In 1990, the federal Americans with Disabilities Act helped somewhat, regulating the use of a specific wheelchair tiedown and a lap-shoulder belt for every wheelchair passenger being transported. However, Griscti said, "We still found a lot of group homes … weren't fastening them, … and you could see through the window that the shoulder harnesses weren't fastened."

Because of a rash of accidents, such as a 73-year-old man with cerebral palsy dying when his van driver slammed on the brakes in 2002, seven people being ejected from a van on the Garden State Parkway in 2006 when the van flipped over, and a van flipping over and striking a utility pole while carrying handicapped passengers in December 2006, Griscti said they decided to move forward in achieving legislation as fast as they could.

"The kind of thing that happened to my son started happening all over the place, but it didn't make the newspaper because it was just a broken bone," she said.

So the gro up approached Assemblyman Upendra Chivukula (D-17th District), who introduced two bills to be named Stephen's Law.

The women had previously worked toward the implementation of Danielle's Law, based on the story of Gruskowski's daughter, Danielle, who passed away in 2002 after caretakers at her Edison group home failed to identify multiple symptoms of her Rhett syndrome as life threatening and did not call 911. Danielle's Law was set up to make the calling of 911 mandatory in such situations.

In addition, the women have joined the North Brunswick Abilities Council to try to foster awareness of and advocacy for the needs of the disabled. They are currently collecting wheelchairs and other equipment for patients who cannot afford it, and they are planning a Disabilities Awareness Day for the spring.

Griscti said that in the future, she hopes "for children to be as safe, happy and healthy as possible, especially after we're gone."

To join the Abilities Council or to volunteer for the Disability Awareness Day, contact 732-247- 0922, ext. 619, or e-mail AbilitiesCouncil@ northbrunswickonline.com.

Contact Jennifer Amato at jamato@gmnews.com.