House Judiciary advances bill to raise penalties for hit-and-run crashes involving serious injury or death

Representative Smith presented House Bill 111 to the House Judiciary Committee on behalf of constituents who were struck and left at the scene of collisions. The bill would add a knowledge element to existing hit-and-run statutes and increase maximum penalties for failing to stop after an accident that results in serious bodily injury or death.

The bill drew testimony from Chief Matt Johnson, Torrington Police Department, who described two cases in his community since 2021 in which pedestrians were struck, suffered long-term injuries and medical bills totaling “hundreds of thousands of dollars,” and whose drivers were ultimately convicted only of misdemeanors under current law. "We feel like given the, pretty serious nature of this, and the horrific impact that it has on victims and their families, that this is a crime that ought to qualify for…