GIBSONTON, Fla. – A newly enacted Florida traffic regulation closes a legal loophole by upgrading penalties for habitual offenders who drive without a valid driver’s license.
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Gibsonton motorcycle crash
What we know:
In December 2024, Isaiah Raposa, 18, was hit and killed while riding his motorcycle in Gibsonton.
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“He had these huge dimples that, when he smiled, it’d make you smile,” Isaiah’s mom Jess Washington said. “He had that aura that everybody wanted to be around him.”
Two days after the crash, Jonathan Saldana Rojas was arrested and charged in the crash. According to records, since 2019, Saldana had received six citations for driving without a valid license.
Saldana pleaded guilty to several charges, including leaving the scene of a crash involving death. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison.
“Eight days prior to him hitting my son, he got pulled over and, once again, he got slapped on the wrist and got sent on his way,” Washington said.
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Florida traffic loophole closure details
The backstory:
Under previous state law, the definition of a habitual traffic offender included drivers whose privileges were disqualified, but it did not mention drivers who never had a valid license. Washington worked with state lawmakers for the last year and a half to pass Isaiah’s Law.
The law, which took effect on July 1, now includes a provision classifying drivers as habitual traffic offenders if they get three or more convictions for driving without a valid license within a five-year period. This classification allows offenders to face enhanced penalties in future cases.
The law passed the Florida legislature and was signed by Governor Ron DeSantis in April.
Family reaction to law
What they’re saying:
“Now I feel like I fulfilled that purpose that now, you know, I hear his name and I see his name, and I see his face.”
Washington says this new law helps bring her a sense of justice in Isaiah’s case.
“Maybe it’ll prevent, you know, mothers, fathers, grandparents or, you know, loved ones to have to bury, you know, their loved ones,” she said. “Even if it saves one or a thousand people, it you know, Isaiah’s law is going to save people.”
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