Gordon’s grilling came at a state Senate informational hearing jointly held by the public safety and transportation committees. It appears to be the first such legislative hearing focused on DUIs, traffic laws and roadway fatalities in decades. 

Sen. Jesse Arreguín, an Oakland Democrat who chairs the Senate Public Safety Committee, focused on the case of Kostas Linardos, who drove a three-ton pickup truck at high speed into the back of a sedan in late 2022 after years of wracking up tickets for speeding and reckless driving.

“The case that was in CalMatters yesterday, you know, a toddler lost their life because we didn’t flag this earlier in the process and this person was allowed to drive,” Arreguín said. “We’re talking about people’s lives. That’s what we’re trying to protect here.”

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