District attorneys are calling on Albany's three men in a room to amend or kill a bill that would affect future cases against drivers who leave the scene of a serious crash.
Prosecutors and advocates have for years asked lawmakers to address a loophole in state law that gives hit-and-run drivers an incentive to leave the scene. Since the penalty for DWI is more severe, drivers who flee the scene and sober up can essentially game the system -- assuming police track them down at all. In New York City, most hit-and-run crashes go unsolved.
This session, the Assembly and State Senate passed a bill (A5266/S4747) to create the offense of aggravated leaving the scene, a class C felony, but it places a bevy of conditions on when the charge may be applied.
As passed, the charge may be applied only when a driver leaves the scene of a crash resulting in the death or serious injury of more than one person. It must be determined that the crash was caused by reckless driving, and the driver must be driving without a valid license due to a prior DWI or leaving the scene conviction, or have a prior conviction for leaving the scene or DWI in the last 10 years.
The bill's sponsors are Assembly Member Fred Thiele of Bridgehampton and Senator Rich Funke of Fairport.
Madeline Singas, acting district attorney in Nassau County, is opposed to the bill. Maureen McCormick, Nassau vehicular crimes chief, says her office and other prosecutors are in touch with Thiele and Funke about amending it and are asking Governor Cuomo to either not sign the current bill or veto it outright.
"The chapter amendment we are seeking -- and the bill sponsors support -- would simply elevate the current felony levels for leaving the scene," McCormick told Streetsblog via email. "The E felony [New York's least severe felony category] for leaving where there is serious injury would be elevated to a D and the D felony for fatalities would be elevated to a C."
The bill could be sent to Governor Cuomo for his signature at any time. Transportation Alternatives is urging people to contact Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, Senate Majority Leader John Flanagan, and the governor's office to ask them to amend or veto the bill.
