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The legislation, Assembly Bill No. 3662, known as the "Rosa-Bonilla Family Act," is an effort to educate motorists after a Jan. 23 incident in which a snow-clogged tailpipe caused carbon monoxide to seep into a vehicle, resulting in the deaths of Sashalynn Rosa of Passaic, along with her 1-year-old son and 3-year-old daughter, who were sitting in the vehicle waiting for it to warm up as the children’s father, Felix Bonilla, cleared the snow that surrounded it.
“The loss of Sashalynn Rosa, her son, Messiah Bonilla, and daughter, Saniyah Bonilla, left a void in our community,” Blanco said. “It is heartbreaking, and every effort needs to be made to raise awareness to prevent this from ever happening again.
“This tragedy may have been preventable if there was more awareness of the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning during snow conditions. I will continue to work with Assemblyman Gary Schaer to promote this legislation and its goal of raising awareness among motorists.”
The bill requires the Motor Vehicle Commission to include questions concerning the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning from motor vehicles and techniques for the safe operation and proper maintenance of a vehicle as a part of the written examination required to obtain an examination permit and basic driver’s license.
It also requires the MVC to develop an informational brochure, in consultation with the New Jersey Department of Health and the Division of Highway Traffic Safety within the Department of Law and Public Safety, to explain both the dangers and preventative measures needed to ensure the safety of motorists.
The informational brochure would be distributed to every person who applies for a new driver’s license, driver’s license renewal, identification card, identification card renewal, motor vehicle registration or motor vehicle registration renewal, as well as every person who has a motor vehicle inspected at an official inspection facility or a private inspection facility.
“While being in Passaic the day police and paramedics tried to revive Sashalynn Rosa and her two children is indescribable, I can’t imagine the pain and loss felt by the Rosa and Bonilla families and friends,” Schaer said. “This effort will raise awareness and hopefully prevent another tragedy and save lives.”
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