California drivers could soon have a new way to help catch hit-and-run drivers under a bill that passed the State Assembly on Wednesday.
The bill entails that car and driver information be displayed on freeway signs relating to hit-and-run accidents that resulted in injuries or death. After passing through the State Assembly, the bill will now go to the Senate.
Passage of the Yellow Alert system hit especially home for one San Diego woman.
Katie Conner was hit by a driver as she was biking home from work in Ocean Beach more than five months ago. The crash landed her in the hospital in critical condition. The driver, who sped off, was never found.
Conner is slowly recovering and trying to move on with her life.
“I’m back to work and exercising and doing the majority of the things that I was before,” she said. “I try and just keep it in my past and just keep continuing to live the life that I was before.”
Sadly, on average, between 2009 and 2012, 87 percent of drivers responsible for deaths and injuries were not punished, according to The Voice of San Diego.
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California Assemblyman Mike Gatto spearheaded the Yellow Alert, an expansion of the Amber Alert system. Similar to an Amber Alert, freeway signs would display detailed vehicle description, such as make, model, color and license plate number in close vicinity to hit-and-run accidents.
Unlike an Amber Alert, cellphones wouldn’t be buzzed about those accidents.
Conner said had the Yellow Alert system been in place at the time of her accident, she thinks the driver could have been caught.
“I’m just really thankful that this is going to help a lot of victims just like myself,” she said.
