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Permalink Reply by TonyP on July 13, 2020 at 11:30am

I've got a very low opinion of anybody that would hit and run.

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Permalink Reply by Jim Reho on July 14, 2020 at 6:58am

For sure! I've commented on this before: it seems that almost every time someone kills someone on a bike, they just drive away. According to the AAA in 2018:

• An average of 682,000 hit-and-run crashes occurred each year since 2006.
• Nearly 65 percent of people killed in hit-and-run crashes were pedestrians or bicyclists.
• Hit-and-run deaths in the U.S. have increased an average of 7.2 percent each year since 2009.

A related AAA stat is that: "The most recent crash data available shows 939 people were killed in red light running crashes in 2017 — a 10-year high and a 28% increase since 2012." 

Seems about right. Vehicles are being built safer, but drivers are driving less safely.

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Permalink Reply by TonyP on July 14, 2020 at 7:42am

I've never researched it but it's my understanding that the charges for hit and run are less than those for drunk driving. If that is indeed true than it can become calculated and not spur of the moment.

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Permalink Reply by Jim Reho on July 14, 2020 at 5:31pm

You raise an interesting point.

The driver of any vehicle involved in a motor vehicle accident resulting in personal injury to or death of any person must immediately stop their vehicle at the scene of the accident (yes, it says "accident" in the statute). Failure to do so is a Class 4 felony punishable by 1-3 years in an Illinois state prison and fines of up to $25,000.

Further, if you don't stop at the scene of an accident involving personal injury or death, you must report the incident within half an hour at a local police station. If you don't do that and somebody dies, you are guilt of a separate Class 1 felony punishable by four to 15 years in prison and a fine up to $25,000.

Your first two DUIs are Class A misdemeanors, maximum punishment of up to 364 days in jail and a fine of up to $2,500. Under certain aggravating circumstances, including when you receive a third DUI, a DUI is a Class 4 felony. Your third aggravated DUI becomes a Class 2 felony punishable by three to seven years in prison and fines up to $25,000. 

So, there are different levels of consequences depending on the situation.

There are legions of lawyers in Chicago devoted to getting people off on leaving the scene and non-reporting charges, or getting the charges reduced or dropped entirely as part of a plea. I have not heard that Cook county prosecutors are very zealous about putting people in jail or prison on such charges. But I'm not an expert on that.  

 

  

 

   

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