The dad and mom of a New Jersey man killed in a 2017 ISIS-inspired rental-truck terror assault in Manhattan says a regulation honoring their son should be up to date to stop terrorists from utilizing Turo and comparable ride-sharing apps as they did this week in New Orleans and Las Vegas.
The US Division of Homeland Safety was required to create a report outlining methods to assist forestall vehicular terrorist assaults as a part of the “Darren Drake Act,” named after a 32-year-old among the many eight caught and killed by a rented Dwelling Depot truck pushed onto a motorbike path by terrorist Sayfullo Saipov within the Halloween assault alongside the West Facet Freeway.
The regulation sponsored by Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) required DHS to draft an inventory of “greatest practices” for automotive and truck rental firms to report suspicious habits by renters to regulation enforcement to assist forestall autos from getting used as weapons of mass destruction.
However the regulation fails to immediately deal with car-sharing apps like Turo, which act as AirBnb-like middlemen by permitting customers to lease autos from hosts registered with the location.
Turo is below scrutiny as a result of the 2 autos used within the lethal New 12 months’s Day terror assaults in Las Vegas and New Orleans have been rented on its platform.
Each Jimmy and Barbara Drake praised Gottheimer for sponsoring the invoice, however advised The Put up DHS should crack down on firms like Turo – and so they referred to as for amended or new laws requiring it.
“It’s apparent that this invoice may want somewhat updating,” mentioned Jimmy Drake. “Up till these incidents in Vegas and New Orleans, all of us had nice aspirations for the invoice stopping [terrorists] from killing individuals with a automotive.”
“The regulation ought to cowl all points as a result of [terrorists] get round all corners, so it shouldn’t simply be the rental companies – however all points,” mentioned his spouse.
Gottheimer advised The Put up he’s reached out to DHS to “guarantee they instantly transient Turo and all rental automotive firms on actions they need to take to cease terror vans.
With out providing specifics, the pol mentioned he’s engaged on new laws “that goes even additional to offer extra instruments to stop these heinous terrorist assaults” and “cease lone wolf terrorists from utilizing terror vans as weapons of destruction.”
His workplace wouldn’t flip over a replica of the DHS report, saying it’s marked “For Official Use Solely.”
Darren Drake was a undertaking supervisor for Moody’s Traders Service on the World Commerce Heart.
The New Milford, N.J. resident had just lately misplaced 93 kilos after present process lap band surgical procedure and was out for a motorbike trip between conferences when the truck hit and killed him.
A Turo spokesperson mentioned the corporate doesn’t “consider that both renter” within the New 12 months’s Day assaults “had a legal background that will have recognized them as a safety menace, and we aren’t at present conscious of any info that signifies the 2 incidents are associated.”
DHS didn’t return messages.
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