A Bucks County family wants Pennsylvania to punish drunk-driving deaths more severely after a volunteer firefighter's killer received what they call an inadequate sentence.

Joseph "Joey" Kay, 35, was a Plumsteadville volunteer firefighter and a former firefighter of the year. He was killed June 2, 2024, in Hilltown Township while riding as a passenger in a Polaris Ranger driven by Colin Wahlers, according to WFMZ 69 News. Wahlers was fleeing police at a high rate of speed with a blood-alcohol level of 0.195%, more than twice the legal limit.

Wahlers lost control, the vehicle flipped, and Kay was ejected and killed instantly.

Wahlers pleaded guilty to homicide by vehicle while DUI, fleeing police and related offenses. He was sentenced in October 2025 to three to six years in state prison, the mandatory minimum under current law.

That sentence stunned the Kay family. Joey's mother Sue and sisters Lauren, Megan and Shannon have spent the past year working with state Rep. Shelby Labs to draft House Bill 2495. Labs represents House District 143, with a district office on North Easton Road in Doylestown. The family calls the bill Joey's Law.

"We realized that we need to make a bigger change for the state of Pennsylvania," Lauren Kay told BUCKSCO.Today. "We realized that other families will be going through this, and that's devastating."

Under current Pennsylvania law, homicide by vehicle while DUI is a second-degree felony carrying a three-year mandatory minimum. That sentence can be reduced to 18 months if the offender enrolls in a boot camp or Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition (ARD) program, WFMZ reported.

Joey's Law would reclassify the offense as a first-degree felony and raise the mandatory minimum to five years, according to WFMZ. The bill would also add prison time based on aggravating factors: a BAC double the legal limit, fleeing police, having a minor in the vehicle or killing more than one person in a single crash.

The bill was referred to the House Judiciary Committee on May 8. It carries bipartisan co-sponsorship from Republicans and Democrats across the state. No committee hearing has been scheduled as of Oct. 10.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) announced its support for Joey's Law on June 2, the second anniversary of Kay's death. Shannon Rittenhouse, Joey's sister, spoke on behalf of the family at the announcement, saying they were shocked to learn the sentence Wahlers received reflected the minimum under current law, according to a MADD press release.

In 2024, 290 people were killed in drunk-driving crashes statewide, accounting for 26% of all traffic fatalities in Pennsylvania, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data cited by MADD.

The bill remains in the House Judiciary Committee with no vote scheduled.