Politics & Government

Bill Would Create System to Catch Hit-and-Run Drivers

The alerts would be similar to Amber Alerts.

Legislation was introduced Friday that would create a statewide "yellow alert" system -- modeled after Amber Alerts -- to help catch hit-and-run drivers.

Assembly Bill 47 calls for law enforcement agencies to use the Emergency Alert System to circulate bulletins with descriptions of vehicles involved in a hit-and-run collisions that result in deaths or serious injuries.

"The public is almost always needed to catch those who leave fellow citizens dying on the side of the road, and AB 47 will allow us to do so promptly, before the perpetrator can get away and cover up the evidence," Assemblyman Mike Gatto, D-Los Angeles, said of his bill.

Find out what's happening in Novatowith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Nationwide, less than half of all hit-and-run offenders are caught, according to Gatto.

The alerts would be similar to Amber Alerts, which are aimed at helping find abducted children. In Denver, a "Medina Alert" was created in 2012 in memory of Jose Medina who died in a hit-and-run. Of 17 cases in which Medina Alerts were issued, 13 hit-and-run cases were solved, officials said. The system is now being instituted across Colorado.

Find out what's happening in Novatowith free, real-time updates from Patch.

--City News Service


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