AB 232

Under current law, the operator of a vehicle may not leave the scene of an

accident upon striking a person or an attended or occupied vehicle without giving

certain information, and rendering assistance or aid to an injured person at the scene

of the accident, if necessary. An operator who fails to do so is subject to varying

penalties, depending on the severity of injury to the other person. Currently, if the

other person was injured but did not suffer great bodily harm, the operator who

leaves the scene of an accident may be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned for

not more than nine months or both.

This bill provides that an operator who leaves the scene of an accident that

causes injury, but not great bodily harm, to another person without providing the

required information or rendering the required assistance is guilty of a Class I felony

and may be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned for not more than three years

and six months or both.

Because this bill creates a new crime or revises a penalty for an existing crime,

the Joint Review Committee on Criminal Penalties may be requested to prepare a

report concerning the proposed penalty and the costs or savings that are likely to

result if the bill is enacted.