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Gov. Steve Beshear on Monday signed a law making it a felony for a driver to leave the scene of an accident that involves a death or serious injury.
The law takes effect July 15. It comes two weeks after an 18-year-old University of Kentucky freshman was killed in a high-profile hit and run in downtown Lexington.
Connie Blount died April 13 at University of Kentucky hospital after being hit by a pickup truck on South Broadway and Maxwell Street. Police said she was crossing against the traffic signal when she stopped in the street for unknown reasons. Last week, police charged Shannon D. Houser, 36, with leaving the scene of the accident and tampering with physical evidence.
Blount's father criticized the fact that it was a misdemeanor in Kentucky to leave the scene of a serious accident. Only Kentucky, Utah and Montana still have laws on the books that make it a misdemeanor, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures in Denver.
In an effort to strengthen drunken-driving statutes, several states made leaving the scene of an accident a felony about 10 years ago, said Melissa Savage of the NCSL. Many laws were changed after someone was killed in a high-profile case.
"Sadly, that what it usually takes," she said.
In Kentucky, Rep. Tommy Thompson, D-Owensboro, sponsored the bill after 14-year-old Eric Johnson was killed in a hit-and-run in 2006 as he crossed an Owensboro street. The driver fled the scene and later pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges and served less than a year in jail, according to the Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer.
"It's time we show just how serious such a crime is. It's time we get the attention of people who are more concerned with their own potential legal troubles than with someone else's life," Beshear said Monday at a signing ceremony for several bills including this one.
