California Injury Blog
Leaders in Los Angeles and California are teaming up to crack down on what many are calling the epidemic of hit-and-run crashes in the City of Angels and statewide.
According to an NBC Los Angeles news report, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and State Assemblyman Mike Gatto joined other leaders at Los Angeles City Hall this week to announce their support of two bills that aim to stem the tide of hit-and-run incidents in California.
Two Hit-and-Run Bills
First is the introduction of a statewide
“yellow alert” system to announce driver and vehicle information just as an “amber alert” system would in child abduction cases.
This is similar to the Medina Alert system implemented earlier this year in Colorado named after 21-year-old Jose Medina, a valet worker who was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver in 2011.
AB 47 will allow the authorities to use the “yellow alert” system to track down hit-and-run drivers before they can get away and cover up the evidence, officials say.
The other bill, AB 1532 would increase misdemeanor penalties of a hit-and-run crash to include an immediate driver’s license suspension for six months, a $1,000 fine and six months in jail. Both of these important pieces of legislation are scheduled to be heard by the Senate Committee on Appropriations in August.
Taking the Necessary Steps
There is no doubt that hit-and-run accidents have reached epidemic proportions, particularly in Los Angeles, which has bout 20,000 hit-and-run crashes every year, making up about 48 percent of the total accidents in the city. A hit-and-run is not an accident. It is a conscious decision an individual makes – to flee the scene of an injury or fatal accident.
As personal injury attorneys in Los Angeles who represent hit-and-run victims and their families, we whole-heartedly support both of these legislations, which we believe will play important roles in holding hit-and-run drivers accountable and deterring drivers from leaving collision scenes.
Leaving the scene is a cowardly, inhumane and irresponsible act.
Our law firm has a Hit-and-Run Reward Program in place because we would like to do our part to stop this epidemic. We hope that these two bills become laws of the land and help stem the tide of hit-and-run accidents in Los Angeles and all of California.