More severe penalties for those who are involved in car accidents and then flee, are being proposed in the state Legislature in the hopes of deterring the rising number of hit-and-run crimes.
"We are having an onslaught of people leaving the scene of an accident," said Rep. Kathi Foster, the sponsor of the proposed bill.
Foster, who lost her nephew in a hit-and-run crime, said the bill's main purpose is to increase penalties and bring public awareness to the issue.
The recommended provisions to the current penalties are to change the one-year license suspension to five years.
Those convicted on a hit-and-run charge would also have to face the sentence concurrently with other charges related to the accident. This would increase the time served.
The bill has passed the House and is moving to the Senate.
The bill comes in the wake of an incident that resulted in the death of an 18-year-old ASU student in the fall.
Phoenix lawyer Mark Torre is accused of hitting ASU freshman Jessica Woodin and fleeing the scene. According to officials, Torre had visited bars with a friend prior to the accident.
"Had the law been in effect, this man would have had to deal with the increased penalties in connection with his alcohol," Foster said.
If the proposed law had been in effect at the time of the incident, Torre would have faced a sentence where his hit-and-run conviction would run consecutively with a possible alcohol charge.
Bill supporter Rep. Meg Burton Cahill, D-Tempe, said the bill would make it so someone would not have an advantage if they leave and to make them think twice about that decision.
"I can't imagine what would go through the mind of someone to leave, because so many times that can be the difference between life and death," Cahill said. "We need to reaffirm the moral responsibility we have to fellow human beings."
Reach the reporter at joanne.yuan@asu.edu.
