AB 585

Under current law, if an operator of a vehicle has an accident resulting in

personal injury or vehicle damage, the operator must immediately stop the vehicle

at or near the scene of the accident, provide certain information, and render

reasonable assistance to any injured person. A person who commits a

failure-to-stop violation (hit-and-run): 1) may be fined not more than $10,000 or

imprisoned for not more than nine months or both if the accident involved injury to

a person but the person did not suffer great bodily harm; 2) is guilty of a Class E

felony if the accident involved injury to a person and the person suffered great bodily

harm; and 3) is guilty of a Class D felony if the accident involved death to a person.

This bill creates an additional category of penalty for hit-and-run. A person

guilty of hit-and-run is guilty of a Class H felony if the accident involved injury to

a person and the person suffered substantial bodily harm. A Class H felony is

punishable by a fine not exceeding $10,000 or imprisonment not exceeding six years

or both. "Substantial bodily harm" means bodily injury that causes a laceration that

requires stitches, staples, or a tissue adhesive; any fracture of a bone; a broken nose;

a burn; a petechia; a temporary loss of consciousness, sight, or hearing; a concussion;

or a loss or fracture of a tooth. The bill also defines "great bodily harm," for purposes

of the bill, as bodily injury that creates a substantial risk of death, or that causes

serious permanent disfigurement, or that causes a permanent or protracted loss or

impairment of the function of any bodily member or organ or other serious bodily

injury.

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.