Committee advances 'Jody's Law' to stiffen hit-and-run response and speed crash alerts
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Summary
Senate committee voted to report HB 806, a measure named for a hit-and-run victim that would strengthen penalties, require rapid law-enforcement alerts after serious crashes and prompt judicial review of preset bail in fatal or serious-injury hit-and-run cases. Families and law-enforcement witnesses urged passage.
House Bill 806, presented by Representative LaFleur on behalf of the Crow family, would add sentencing factors and rapid-notification procedures to the state’s hit-and-run statute and require judges to consider preset bail in serious injury or death cases.
Holly Crow, mother of the bill’s namesake Jody, described finding her daughter after a driver left the scene and urged lawmakers to close gaps that allow offenders to evade responsibility: "Leaving the scene is not panic or confusion. It is a deliberate act of self preservation at the cost of another human life," she told the committee.
David Wallace, a retired Baton Rouge traffic investigator who handled many hit-and-run scenes, told senators quicker alerts and earlier evidence preservation could have changed outcomes: "Once they leave, especially 3 and 4 days, it is impossible to determine their blood alcohol content," he said.
Support from district attorneys, law-enforcement associations and victim advocates was read into the record, and committee members moved to report the bill favorably.
The bill was reported favorably and now goes to the full Senate calendar for consideration.
