Driver who killed girl had reckless history

Reckless driving was a pattern for the man who appears to have drunkenly careened off Youree Drive Saturday afternoon, striking and killing a 7-year-old girl who died Monday.

But though he'd amassed some 40 traffic violations in 20 years in Shreveport — including driving while intoxicated and careless operation — neither the state nor a judge stopped 46-year-old Randy Presentine from having a license or operating a vehicle.

That Presentine's driving history culminated in an innocent girl's death is the latest example of traffic court's revolving door, a dynamic local police officers say frustrates their efforts to keep dangerous drivers off the road.

"As far as I know you can get as many speeding tickets as you possibly can and still be able to keep your driver's license," said Lt. James Bellotte, executive officer of the Shreveport Police Department's traffic bureau.

Presentine is accused of being drunk during the afternoon accident that killed De'Asia Henderson.

On Tuesday, a carefully-constructed memorial stood at the site of the brutal event.

A red bike, surrounded by plush toys and balloons, marked the spot where De'Asia waited for traffic with her cousin, RaKendrick Baker, at the corner of Youree Drive and East Herndon Street. A set of tire tracks show a diversion from the southbound roadway onto the median and lead directly to a smashed but upright trash can, the base of a telephone pole destroyed in the collision and the girl's memorial.

In the days after her injury, De'Asia's family built a gofundme.com site to help pay for her medical expenses. It raised more than $1,300.

"She was sassy, loving and goofy. That's what we really gone miss about her. It's really hard on our family right now. We really appreciate it if you can help us out to[sic]. Anything will help. Thanks for all the prayers for our family," the family-managed site reads.

A suspended license — regardless of blood alcohol content — means Presentine shouldn't have been driving.

"It's sad. It's something I wish we had more control over," said Sgt. Mike Vaitkus, supervisor of traffic safety for the Caddo Sheriff's office. In his 18 years in that role, Vaitkus said he's only seen a driver's license being revoked for the elderly or those with medical conditions.

Unlike DWI charges, which can become more severe with each repeated offense, most traffic violations are treated as isolated events, he said. Louisiana is also in the minority nationwide for not having a point system whereby a certain number of traffic citations on a license results in penalties.

The state motor vehicle departments in Texas and Arkansas can suspend a driver's license and charge increasingly punishing fines per those states' point systems.

"Everybody is always worried about (repeat traffic offenses) and I have to say, 'You have nothing to worry about in Louisiana. We're not a points state,'" said Jason Waltman, a Shreveport lawyer whose focus is DWI and other traffic-related matters. There's no central state repository to track people's traffic violations, and judges generally don't forward an offender's history to the Office of Motor Vehicles for any type of review, he said.

Such a process might've flagged Presentine, who pleaded guilty to a June 21, 1996, DWI and paid most of his $765 fine. The case was closed even though Presentine still owed $150, according to the Shreveport City Court clerk's office. The 1996 DWI didn't affect Presentine's current DWI charge because it happened more than 10 years ago.

His rap sheet includes dozens of other charges, including driving 30 miles over the speed limit, careless operation, not having insurance and operating with a suspended license. The latter two charges came as recently as Oct. 3. Judge Wilbert Pryor accepted Presentine's guilty plea and ordered him to pay $349 on both counts.

Calls to Pryor and the prosecutor on the case, Terrell Myles, were not returned. Asked to shed light on Presentine's October court proceeding, Shreveport City Attorney Terri Scott sent an email stating information already available in the court record, which she said "speaks for itself."

Presentine now faces charges of negligent homicide, first-offense DWI and being an in-state fugitive. He's in custody in the Caddo Correctional Center.

"I think there should be more in place as far as a license being removed permanently from someone, and stricter penalties against someone if we pull them over and find out that they're suspended," said Vaitkus.

"People are very misled about drivers licenses," he said. "It's not a right, it's a privilege."

Twitter: @mayalau