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Arkansas panel raises hit-and-run penalty after victims testify; lawyers warn of constitutional risk
Summary
The Senate Judiciary Committee advanced House Bill 1505 to raise penalties for hit-and-run incidents that cause serious injury or death, following emotional testimony from victims—s families and a contested legal debate over whether the measure creates a strict-liability felony. The bill passed the committee as offered.
The Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday voted to pass House Bill 1505, which raises the penalty for fleeing the scene of an accident that results in serious physical injury or death from a class D felony to a class B felony.
Representative Fite, who sponsored the bill, said it was brought at the request of the Hit and Run Project in Fayetteville and intended to reduce the incentive to flee rather than stop and render aid. "We are saying if there is a serious physical injury to or death to another person, he or she upon conviction is guilty of a class B felony," Fite said.
Two witnesses with personal losses urged the change. Stacy Bankston, who identified herself as a…
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