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

The system would operate similar to the “Amber Alerts” issued after child abductions. 

Backers of the bill say hit-and-run drivers have been getting away with the crime for too long. Assemblyman Mike Gatto says his bill would help victims and their families get justice and ease a lot public frustration.

“It’s just disappointment at the idea that it’s acceptable to just leave somebody bleeding on the side of the road and leave them for dead and not even stop to call 911,” says Gatto. “What’s even worse is that people are getting away with it every weekend in California – every day.”

Statistics show fewer than half of hit-and-run drivers nationwide ever face justice. The numbers in Los Angeles alone show that around 80 percent of hit-and-run drivers there are never caught.

Under the bill, only hit-and-run collisions that result in death or serious injury would trigger the “Yellow Alert.” An alert would also only be issued in the community where the hit-and-run happened.

The bill is headed to the Senate Public Safety committee this week.