Hit and Run in Arizona

33 thoughts on “Hit and Run in Arizona”

1. Hi Ed,

   No alcohol is a standard part of a plea agreement, it is pre-printed on the form, so there’s really no reason to infer that it is a term of probation for any one specific person or that alcohol was suspected.

   I would want to see the Complaint and any motion practice before I could comment specifically on why this is a class 3 rather than a class 2. I also agree that a sentence below the mitigated is not appropriate. The actual plea may have lowered to a class 6 so that it could be county jail rather than dept. of corrections?

   Keep in mind that aside from the hit/run felony statute, there is also a felony for killing while running a red light. A.R.S. 28-672. This is a class 3 misdemeanor.

2. From the azdailysun.com police blotter October 9, 2008:

   A 21-year-old bicyclist riding northbound on Humphreys Street near Aspen Avenue reported being pushed off his bike and bumped in the back at about 6:40 p.m. Wednesday by the driver of a Ford pickup.
   The bicyclist told Flagstaff police the driver had been yelling at the cyclist to get off the road, and saying things like “ride your f— bike on the sidewalk.”
   The cyclist looked back at the driver, who he saw as a white male in his 30s or 40s, and decided to ignore him, as he said he had done with other angry drivers.
   The driver then hit the cyclist with his vehicle, pushing the cyclist off his bike, breaking a cable on the bike, and began pushing the cyclist in the back with his pickup, the cyclist told police.
   The cyclist noted the license plate of the truck as the truck slowly drove away.
   The crime was listed as a felony hit and run and aggravated assault by police, though no one has been charged in the case.
   Flagstaff police looked up the owner of the truck as registered to the state and mailed a letter to that address after an unsuccessful attempted phone call to a disconnected number.

3. Bob Mionske column on the subject of hit and run.

4. Here’s an anecdote. I don’t have time to find particulars; it seems awfully light sentence — probation for hit-and-run killing a ped?? Evidence problems, maybe? dunno. the text is confusing. Also, “facing… 2 1/2 years” would imply a class 4 felony. It should have been either a 2 or 3.

   At the Courthouse: Teen gets probation in death of another teen
   A 19-year-old Tucson man is serving three years probation for his involvement in the death of a 16-year-old pedestrian.
   Tucson police say that on March 9, Daniel Juan Amado and someone in a black Honda were speeding down Campbell Avenue when Amado’s car suddenly swerved, hit a curb, careened out of control, hit a fire hydrant and Ricardo Manriquez, who died an hour later.
   Police said Amado left the scene with the people in the Honda, but was later arrested at his girlfriend’s house.
   Amado pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident resulting in physical injury and was facing probation or up to 2 1/2 years in prison.
   Judge Deborah Bernini placed him on three years probation last month.
   Amado told a probation officer he wasn’t racing when he crashed and he had no idea he’d hit anyone. He said he lost control when someone veered into his lane.
   Amado also said he thinks of Manriquez and his family everyday and feels his own future is ruined as he had planned to go into the military.
   Manriquez was a student at Sunnyside High School.

   Read more:

5. Phoenix incident 10001847679 (name: Redondo), ADOT#10001847679.

   Narrative by Phoenix police Yamane (emphasis added):

   V1 was travelling east bound in the number 1 lane at a high rate of speed when V1 made an unsafe lane change at struck the driver side of V2. V2 was travelling eastbound in the number 2 lane at approximately 45MPH. THE DRIVER OF V1 LEFT THE SCENE. NO CONTACT WAS MADE BY POLICE. V1 was disabled after stricking the sec (?) of 71st Ave and Thomas.

6. at least SOMETIMES, SOME judges/ prosecutors dish out significant sentences for hit-and-run. I wonder exactly what discretion judges have in Arizona for arrangements like permanant driver’s license revocation??

   Saratoga businessman Robert Schiro sentenced to three years in state prison – ordered never to drive again

   By Tracey Kaplan
   Updated: 06/18/2012 05:53:21 PM PDT

   Branding Saratoga businessman Robert Schiro as “callous” and a “danger to the community,” Judge Sharon Chatman on Monday ordered him to serve an unusually tough sentence for a hit-and-run accident that left a cylist permanently injured — three years in state prison and the permanent loss of his driver’s license.
   “The court puts a lot of weight on remorse and what the evidence shows is, there’s absolutely no remorse,” said Chatman, who ruled after hearing tearful impact statements from victim Ashley Jackson Nelson’s brother-in-law about being taunted repeatedly by Schiro outside court. The judge flatly told Schiro, “Your privilege to drive a vehicle is revoked for the rest of your life.”
   The sentence — which Chatman said was meant in part to deter other hit-and-run drivers — appeared to stun Schiro, 72. His lawyer Dan Jensen had asked for probation, citing his client’s age and deteriorating mental condition brought on in part by chronic alcoholism.
   Tipping his mostly bald head back and raising his hands to his face, Schiro exhaled audibly and mouthed “unbelievable,” as the bailiffs stripped him of his pocket change and other personal belongings, in preparation for taking him into a holding cell.
   Permanent damage
   Nelson and her relatives were elated. Even though the judge didn’t impose the maximum sentence of four years, she exceeded the two years recommended by the probation department and also declined to have Schiro serve the time in county jail, considered less onerous than prison.
   Monday’s hearing ended a protracted legal battle that began April 19, 2009, when Schiro veered into the bike lane on Highway 9 near Fruitvale Avenue in Saratoga, violently toppling Ashley Nelson. At the time, Schiro was on probation for a drunken driving conviction and his license had been suspended.
   “It’s over, justice was served,” said Dave Nelson, Ashley Nelson’s husband, who witnessed the crash that left his then-fiance unconscious and gurgling blood. “Now we can move on.”
   The crash left Ashley Nelson with permanent brain damage, palsy to the left side of her body and significant damage to her vision. Recently, she was awarded $3 million in a legal settlement with Schiro’s insurance company.
   But choking back sobs Monday, she said she would gladly give back the money if it meant she — once a competitive cyclist — could be restored to her peak pre-crash physical and mental condition.
   Over the weekend, Ashley Nelson said, a driver ran a red light, crashing into the car she was driving. She said the driver acted responsibly by stopping, showing concern for her and her child, and admitting fault.
   “Bob Schiro could have stopped that day,” she told the judge. “It was an accident — he turned it into a crime.”
   Red flag warning
   The judge also noted Schiro tried to cover up his role in the crash, first by telling his mechanic that his girlfriend had been in a car accident in his silver BMW. The mechanic testified at Schiro’s trial that he was told they hadn’t reported the accident to police, so Schiro wanted him to order a replacement mirror from out of the area. The mechanic reported the conversation to police about two weeks later, after he heard about Nelson’s injuries from the accident.
   The judge took the coverup into account and also considered an incident that occurred just last week. Schiro was stopped for erratic driving — on the same stretch of Highway 9 where the hit-and-run occurred.
   Schiro told the sheriff’s deputy who pulled him over that he had been drinking beer at lunch and later after work. His blood-alcohol level was .039, well below the legal limit of .08, and he was not cited.
   But the incident raised a red flag for the judge. She had been told that Schiro spent time after the crash drying out at the Betty Ford Recovery Center and that he was faithfully attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.
   “Mr. Schiro, when you’re in AA, clean and sober means you do not drink, not you’re not drunk,” she said. “To drink and drive, after having a DUI and being involved in an accident that caused serious injuries is a profound statement of the risk you present.”

   Judge orders Saratoga businessman Robert Schiro not to drive this weekend
   By Tracey Kaplan
   Updated: 06/15/2012 06:32:14 PM PDT

   Concerned about public safety, a Judge Friday sternly ordered a Saratoga businessman not to drive until he is sentenced Monday for a hit-and-run accident that severely injured a competitive bicyclist.
   Despite the unusual order, the bicyclist and her supporters said Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Sharon Chatman didn’t go far enough in protecting the community against Robert Schiro. They wanted the judge to lock the 72-year-old up — now.
   “I just say, ‘Saratoga, beware this weekend,’ ” said Dave Nelson, who was riding with his then-finance at the time of the crash. “This guy thinks he’s above the law.”
   Chatman’s order came after Schiro was stopped just days ago for erratic driving — on the same stretch of Highway 9 in Saratoga near Fruitvale Avenue where he swerved into the bike lane three years ago, toppling Ashley Jackson Nelson.
   Schiro, 72, told the sheriff’s deputy who pulled him over Monday night that he had been drinking. But his blood-alcohol level was .039, well below the legal limit of .08, and he was not cited.
   At the time of the April 19, 2009, hit-and-run crash, Schiro was on probation for a drunken driving conviction and his license had been suspended.
   His trial on the hit-and-run charges involving Ashley Nelson was delayed until early this year, in part because he was drying out at the Betty Ford Center.
   “He is a continued risk to the community,” prosecutor Katrina Ohde told Chatman on Friday, imploring her to put him in jail.
   The crash left Ashley Nelson with permanent brain damage, palsy to the left side of her body and significant damage to her vision.
   Schiro faces a maximum sentence of four years. He was supposed to have been sentenced Friday, but there wasn’t enough time for the judge to hear his attorney Dan Jensen’s motion for a new trial.
   Although Schiro told Chatman he would abide by the no-driving order, he immediately complained, “But where I live is way away from the grocery store and stores.”
   Schiro’s doctors have expressed concern that the elderly man’s mental facilities are decreasing, according to court documents. As the group was filing out of the courtroom, Schiro turned to Dave Nelson’s older brother Steve Nelson and made a comment that prompted his lawyer to hush him up, “You get uglier every time I see you.”

7. Arizona 2010 Hit-and-Run collisions

   Arizona 2010 Hit-and-Run collisions
   – – – – – All Crashes – – – – –					Crashes where Victim is KSI
   	Crashes	Hit-and-Run	percent Hit-and-Run		Crashes	Hit-and-Run	percent Hit-and-Run
   All types	106,301	11,402	10.7%		4250	214	5.0%
   MV-bike	1,912	255	13.3%		237	24	10.1%
   MV-ped	1,449	282	19.5%		470	68	14.5%

   Source: 2010 ADOT collision database.

   SELECT count(*) FROM 2010_incident;
   SELECT count(*) FROM 2010_incident i WHERE EXISTS (SELECT 1 FROM 2010_unit u WHERE u.IncidentID=i.IncidentID AND u.eUnitType IN (‘PEDALCYCLIST’));
   SELECT count(*) FROM 2010_incident i WHERE EXISTS (SELECT 1 FROM 2010_unit u WHERE u.IncidentID=i.IncidentID AND u.eUnitType IN (‘PEDESTRIAN’));
   SELECT count(*) FROM 2010_incident WHERE HitAndRunFlag=1;
   SELECT count(*) FROM 2010_incident i WHERE EXISTS (SELECT 1 FROM 2010_unit u WHERE u.IncidentID=i.IncidentID AND u.eUnitType IN (‘PEDALCYCLIST’)) AND HitAndRunFlag=1;
   SELECT count(*) FROM 2010_incident i WHERE EXISTS (SELECT 1 FROM 2010_unit u WHERE u.IncidentID=i.IncidentID AND u.eUnitType IN (‘PEDESTRIAN’)) AND HitAndRunFlag=1;

   and InjurySeverity is in table incident — 1 to 5 with 5=fatal so e.g. the number of fatal bicyclist hitandruns in 2010:

   SELECT count(*) FROM 2010_incident i WHERE EXISTS (SELECT 1 FROM 2010_unit u WHERE u.IncidentID=i.IncidentID AND u.eUnitType IN (‘PEDALCYCLIST’)) AND HitAndRunFlag=1 AND InjurySeverity=5;

   The counts were 5(my records show 6?)/1/5 for 2009/2010/2011

8. for consolidated info regarding hit-and-run fatality of Steven Douglas Langager see:
   http://azbikelaw.org/scottsdale-cyclist-dies-after-hit-and-run-crash/

9. Ed,

   Thanks for your continued efforts to see justice served. I will follow up with the docked cases and if you find out anything else please let me know….thanks again…….m

10. Hello, I was a friend of Steve’s here in AZ. He’s from Minnesota and lived here in the summers. Yes, he was a serious rider and yes I believe the 42 mi ride was one ride! He was on his ride home when this happened. I’m watching the case also and noticed the initial pretrial conference is on 3/11. Thank you so much for following his case! I’m going to relay this to the family and his friends in Minnesota.

11. statistics from ASDM data for 2009-2011 (queries below)… The combined Bicyclist and Ped rate of hit and run fatality rate is something like 7 times that of motorists (i.e. any passenger of a motor vehicle plus, presumably other, drivers of motor vehicles).

    	PED Fatalities			BICYCLIST Fatalities			DRIVER + PASSENGER Fatals
    	H/R fatals	Total fatals	rate of h/r	H/R fatals	Total fatals	rate of h/r	H/R fatals	Total fatals	rate of h/r
    2009	22	122	18.0%	5	25	20.0%	15	659	2.3%
    2010	26	154	16.9%	1	19	5.3%	17	587	2.9%
    2011	30	154	19.5%	5	23	21.7%	14	648	2.2%
    3 yr total	78	430	18.1%	11	67	16.4%	46	1894	2.4%

    queries, e.g. year 2009:

    SELECT COUNT(1) FROM 2009_person p WHERE InjuryStatus=5 AND ePersonType='PEDALCYCLIST' AND EXISTS (SELECT 1 FROM 2009_unit u WHERE u.IncidentID=p.IncidentID AND HitAndRunFlag=1);
    SELECT COUNT(1) FROM 2009_person p WHERE InjuryStatus=5 AND ePersonType='PEDESTRIAN' AND EXISTS (SELECT 1 FROM 2009_unit u WHERE u.IncidentID=p.IncidentID AND HitAndRunFlag=1);
    SELECT COUNT(1) FROM 2009_person p WHERE InjuryStatus=5 AND ePersonType='DRIVER' AND EXISTS (SELECT 1 FROM 2009_unit u WHERE u.IncidentID=p.IncidentID AND HitAndRunFlag=1);
    SELECT COUNT(1) FROM 2009_person p WHERE InjuryStatus=5 AND ePersonType='PASSENGER' AND EXISTS (SELECT 1 FROM 2009_unit u WHERE u.IncidentID=p.IncidentID AND HitAndRunFlag=1);
    query to just count all person fatalities:
    SELECT count(*) from 2009_person where injuryStatus=5;
    query to tally all fatalities by person type:
    SELECT ePersonType,count(1) FROM 2009_person where eInjuryStatus in ('FATAL') GROUP BY 1 ORDER BY 1 ASC LIMIT 50;

    Here’s an easy way to extract raw hit-and-run fractions for (all) motorists, motorcyclists, Bicyclists, Peds (2009-16 data averages: 12, 10 or less, 15, 20 percent:
    

    SELECT SUM(HitAndRunFlag), COUNT(1) , SUM(HitAndRunFlag)/COUNT(1) FROM 2009_incident;
    SELECT SUM(HitAndRunFlag), COUNT(1) , SUM(HitAndRunFlag)/COUNT(1) FROM 2009_incident WHERE sF_Motorcycle;
    SELECT SUM(HitAndRunFlag), COUNT(1) , SUM(HitAndRunFlag)/COUNT(1) FROM 2009_incident WHERE sF_Bicycle;
    SELECT SUM(HitAndRunFlag), COUNT(1) , SUM(HitAndRunFlag)/COUNT(1) FROM 2009_incident WHERE sF_Pedestrian;

12. AZ Attorney General Thomas Horne was found guilty in M-0741-4596841 of ARS 28-664: Duty on striking unattended vehicle. 28-664

    Attorney General Horne pleads no contest in hit-and-run case
    Posted: 05/08/2013 By: Associated Press
    PHOENIX – Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne says he’s pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor hit-and-run charge filed after FBI agents apparently trailing him in a campaign finance case saw him back into a parked SUV while driving a borrowed car. Horne issued a statement Wednesday saying he paid a $300 fine…

13. for consolidated info regarding hit-and-run fatality of Steven Douglas Langager see:
    http://azbikelaw.org/scottsdale-cyclist-dies-after-hit-and-run-crash/

14. Regarding a previously-posed question:

    http://azbikelaw.org/hit-and-run-in-arizona/#comment-16346
    > I wonder exactly what discretion judges have in Arizona for
    > arrangements like permanent driver’s license revocation??

    http://azbikelaw.org/motorist-doctor-convicted-on-all-counts/
    > This revocation leaves me wondering what the deal is with judge’s
    > discretion in sentencing.

    that seems to be answered here:
    http://www.azleg.gov/ars/13/00603.htm
    G. If a person or an enterprise is convicted of any felony, the court may, in addition to any other sentence authorized by law, order the forfeiture, suspension or revocation of any charter, license, permit or prior approval granted to the person or enterprise by any department or agency of the state or of any political subdivision.

15. I am told by Tusconians that neither TPD, nor PCSO will even bother to attempt to find the vehicle involved, much less the driver, of a hit-and-run if the victim cannot identify the driver. Even if the victim supplies police with a complete plate number and vehicle descrtiption.

    Can this be?
    It true, it exhibits a profound laziness on the part of TPD and PCSO for not even simply contacting the registered owner of the vehicle (and looking at the vehicle).
    I don’t quite believe it, but I am pointed to some things that were said at a recent TPCBAC meeting (some of the wording is confusing, “nor partial plates”?).
    By contrast the Phoenix PD will “make contact” even on third-party reported parking lot PDO incidents.

    From the minutes of the TPCBAC March 2013 meeting packet:
    http://biketucson.pima.gov/Meetings/Agendas/March%202013%20BAC%20Agenda%20and%20Packet.pdf

    3. Law Enforcement Staff Reports from TPD and PCSD –
    Sgt. Skeenes: Hit and run Jan. 21st Mountain and Lester, emails say there is no follow up on the crash. First, Bicycles are treated the same as every other hit and run incident. Second, if no one can identify the driver,
    neither the County nor City will follow up. Sgt. Slider did follow up on the
    particular case, nor partial plates, no one that can identify the driver

16. Here’s the rate at which drivers flee as a function of injury severity (worst injury of all involved).

    mysql> SELECT eInjurySeverity, sum(HitAndRunFlag)/count(1) AS HitRunRate FROM 2012_incident GROUP BY 1;

    +---------------------------+------------+
    | eInjurySeverity           | HitRunRate |
    +---------------------------+------------+
    | NO_INJURY                 |     0.1345 |
    | POSSIBLE_INJURY           |     0.0746 |
    | NON_INCAPACITATING_INJURY |     0.0712 |
    | INCAPACITATING_INJURY     |     0.0520 |
    | FATAL                     |     0.0472 |
    +---------------------------+------------+

17. Updated (2012) penalties for fatal hit and run in Pennsylvania:

    http://criminaljusticesection.wordpress.com/2012/08/13/4030/

    “One fluke in the law is that a drunken driver could get a shorter sentence by at least two years by leaving the scene, sobering up and admitting the crime later, based on minimum sentencing requirements”

18. CLAUDIA LYNN BURKE was evidently offered a plea deal, in which she plead guilty to ARS 28-701A (speed gt R&P), a civil traffic violation, in exchange for dismissal of the misdemeanor crime of hit and run with injury. That’s technically wrong, since 701A applies explicitly to “highways”, and not parking lots, where she hit a person afoot. See ARS 28-621.

    http://azdailysun.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/by-the-book/article_c9d1e0fd-265f-5fb9-abb6-5f63a400ecf9.html

19. The hit and run statutes 28-661 et seq appear to be “strict liability”; it’s not required that a driver fled intentionally, knowingly, recklessly, or negligently, just that they did, in fact flee.

    http://www.azleg.gov/ars/13/00202.htm
    B. If a statute defining an offense does not expressly prescribe a culpable mental state that is sufficient for commission of the offense, no culpable mental state is required for the commission of such offense, and the offense is one of strict liability unless the proscribed conduct necessarily involves a culpable mental state. If the offense is one of strict liability, proof of a culpable mental state will also suffice to establish criminal responsibility.

    Also, notably, 28-672 (and similarly: 675 and 676) Causing serious physical injury or death by a moving violation
    http://www.azleg.gov/ars/28/00672.htm
    Is also strict liability.

20. Another one for your records– fatal hit and run from 2002:
    http://azdailysun.com/no-charge-in-crash/article_39b9f5ae-ef81-5c7e-a4fc-7845cb954d3f.html
    Jail sentence initially imposed (8/19/2003) on the driver, then deferred, then deleted (7/16/2004):
    http://www.courtminutes.maricopa.gov/scripts/meeds/qreturn.asp?casenumber=CR2003006188

    PHOENIX (AP) — Police have decided against recommending a manslaughter charge for a 72-year-old driver involved in a hit-and-run accident last month that killed a Phoenix teenager.
    Investigators have recommended that Lila Swanson be charged instead with leaving the scene of a fatal accident.
    They turned their investigation over Friday to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, which will review the report and decide whether charges will be filed in the case.
    Daniel Robeson, 15, was struck and killed while riding his bicycle on Oct. 11.
    Police said they did not recommended the manslaughter charge because Swanson was not speeding or impaired when the accident occurred.
    Swanson’s attorney, Steve Suskin, said his client remains shaken about the accident and has not driven since then.

21. this is shocking/remarkable!!! can it really be almost half of crashes in LA are hit/run?!

    http://laist.com/2013/10/08/stiffer_fines_for_hit-and-runs.php
    “According to the LAPD, there are 20,000 hit-and-runs each year. In an article about the epidemic, the LA Weekly reported that nationwide, 11 percent of vehicle collisions are hit-and-runs, but in L.A., that number is a shocking 48 percent.”

    Here’s a review of the LAWeekly article on la.streetsblog.org “Let’s start with the most revealing statistic. Nationally, 11% of all traffic crashes are hit and runs. In Los Angeles, that number is 48%”… In Arizona, the number is quite close to the 11% number quoted nationally, e.g. in 2012 the split was 91,482 vs. 11,694, or 11.3% … restricting to city of Phoenix is a bit higher at 12.1% (select HitAndRunFlag,count(*) from 2012_incident group by 1; Phoenix is CityID=214)

    In 2013 LAPD released a study on LA’s hit-and-run, however as LAWeekly notes, it whitewashes over the problem by, e.g. selectively choosing NYC and Chicago, and then adjusting their numbers for VMT… viola, LA’s near 50% rate is now somehow better.

    And some commentary from
    bikinginla

22. These are some great witnesses!!
    One has to wonder how it is police can “issue(d) a citation in lieu of detention”. This is a FELONY (28-661 hit/run w/injury).

    Gilbert has an online search…
    CRIMINAL CASE 2013-CT-0017952 State of Arizona vs. Larry Gene Owens
    I can’t see any info there other than that the next court date is arraignment on 11/19/2013
    The defendant seems to have a lot of entries in the justice system, both here (Gilbert) and statewide case lookup (phx muni, ajo justice, N canyon justice). One of the Gilbert entries is for “other crim traffic”; but that was back in 2008.

    http://www.azcentral.com/community/gilbert/articles/20131028gilbert-workers-help-police-catch-hit-run-driver-brk.html
    Three Gilbert town employees helped apprehend a motorist who struck a 15-year-old bicyclist then fled the scene on Oct. 17 (2013)

    Police said Larry G. Owens, 60, allegedly struck the teen at Val Visa Drive and Juniper Avenue. Town utility workers Oscar Fuentes, Mark Hoffman, and Jamie McNamara saw the accident as they were driving to their next job site .

    The three called 911 and then tended to the boy until paramedics could arrive. The unidentified boy was treated at a hospital, but no other information was available.

    Owens was issued a citation in lieu of detention for driving with a suspended license and failure to leave required information at the scene of an accident.

    Gilbert police Lt. Scott Girardin was first on the scene and said the employees “went above and beyond their daily duties to help a citizen in need and the Police Department with their investigation,” according to town spokeswoman Jennifer Alvarez.

    “They had a photograph of the driver, the vehicle, and the license plate,” said Girardin. “The police were able to go to the house and make an arrest. This is a great example of best-in-class service.”

23. Hit-and-Run trending worse:Fatal hit-and-run crashes on rise in U.S.
    “the number of fatal hit-and-run crashes is trending upward, from 1,274 in 2009, to 1,393 in 2010, to 1,449 in 2011, the most recent year for which statistics were available. Perhaps more significantly, the 13.7% increase in hit-and-run deaths over that three-year period occurred while traffic deaths overall were falling 4.5%, from 33,883 in 2009 to 32,367 in 2011.”
    The Peter Kissinger, the AAA guy, annoyingly said ” The main thing we can do as a society to sort of combat this problem is to simply be more alert as pedestrians,”
    There we go: blame the victim. problem solved.

24. Hit-and-run statutes are in Article 4 of “this chapter” (chapter 3) — so those laws apply everywhere thoughout Arizona, not just on roads; they would for example apply in a parking lot…

    28-621. Applicability to vehicles on highways; exceptions
    The provisions of this chapter and chapter 5 of this title relating to the operation of vehicles refer exclusively to the operation of vehicles on highways except:
    1. If a different place is specifically provided by statute.
    2. Article 4 of this chapter and section 28-693 apply on highways and elsewhere throughout this state.

    This comment used to say, apparently in error:
    It seems the HR statutes apply only on “highways”; and not for example on private property. “This chapter” means ch3, which is rules of road, including HR. Kind of surprising.

25. March 2014: CA getting tough on hit-and-run?
    “The California Assembly’s Public Safety Committee voted 7-0 Tuesday to approve A.B. 1532 (AB Assembly Bill), which would require an automatic license suspension for drivers who flee the scene of a crash where a person is hit, even if that person is not injured…”

26. This seems to be a pretty typical sentence (1 month plus some probation). As TucsonVelo pointed out a much much longer sentence is possible for this crime; this would have been a class 3 felony. Once again, I will point out, this seems very very light for a class 3 felony. Why do hit-and-runners get this special treatment? Or is the crime mis-categorized?
    With the article about the sentence, there is *nothing*mentioned about license revocation. The law supposedely requires an automatic, 10 year(!) license revocation. For that to be carried out, the court (the Pima County Superior Court) would have to forward the requisite paperwork to ADOT/MVD — did they? Why does nothing in the story mention this? A 10 year loss of their driving privilege seems to me to be both appropriate punishment for a criminal driver a good deterrent to would-be hit-and-run drivers.

    [ http://www.agave.cosc.pima.gov/PublicDocs/GetCase1.aspx?ID=1310180 CR20133485
    I believe there *should* end up with an annotation/minute entry for the document sent to the MVD/DMV. See eg. Abigail Allin CR20111856. That could take a month or so to process, and perhaps more time to add the annotation. ]

    Tucson woman given 1-month in jail, probation in deadly hit-and-run

    February 01, 2014 12:00 am • By Patrick McNamara1
    A woman accused in the deadly hit-and-run of a pedestrian has been sentenced to one month in jail and three years’ probation.

    Pima County Superior Court Judge Paul Tang sentenced Rebecca Lanette Valenzuela on Friday following her guilty plea to fleeing the scene of an accident in August.

    Valenzuela was the driver of a van that struck and killed 29-year-old Angelic Monica Barnes, who was walking across Irvington Road near South Freemont Avenue. She was not in a crosswalk.

    Dozens of Valenzuela’s family members filled the courtroom for Friday’s emotional and tear-filled sentencing.

    Valenzuela and two passengers fled the crash scene and did not contact police until the following day.

    Deputy Pima County Attorney Elizabeth Farkas asked the judge to impose the maximum sentence the plea agreement allowed, citing the pain and suffering the incident caused the victim and the family’s suffering.

    Valenzuela’s attorney, Rubin Salter, said his client fled in a panic.

    The prosecution and family members of Barnes also said Valenzuela attempted to cover up the incident by seeking to have the windshield replaced on her car the day after the crash. Salter said the characterization was inaccurate.

    “The fact is, the person had been called to fix a windshield (on a different car) the day before this happened,” he said. “There was no intent to hide anything.”

    Valenzuela apologized, saying she had taken responsibility for what she did. “I understand leaving the scene was not the right thing to do,” she said.

    In addition to jail and probation, Valenzuela must perform 200 hours of community service, submit to drug and alcohol monitoring and continue any mental-health treatment.

    Contact reporter Patrick McNamara at 573-4241 or pmcnamara@azstarnet.com

27. Hit-run red new-model Chevy/GMC pickup vs. several pedestrians (walking bicycles on a dirt shoulder) w/serious injury in the west valley/Peoria area.
    4/5/2014 ~ 10pm, 115th Ave south of Happy Valley Road.
    32 y.o. male suspect Eric Nunez was arrested and booked several days later.(the news story just said “5 felony charges”.

    PHOENIX (CBS5) –
    Sheriff’s investigators said they’ve arrested a man who veered off the road, hitting three bicyclists Saturday night.
    The Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office said Eric Nunez, 32, was arrested and booked on five felony charges, including fleeing the scene of an accident.
    Maricopa County Deputy Joaquin Enriquez said just after 10 p.m. Saturday, Nunez was driving south on 115th Avenue and had just passed Happy Valley Road when he came upon the bikers. For some reason, the truck swerved to the right.
    At that point, it hit three bicyclists who were walking their bikes on the dirt shoulder. They were identified as Cam Nelson, her 6-year-old son and Lance Taylor.
    “The suspect vehicle did not stop and fled the scene of the collision to the south,” said Enriquez.

28. Updates to Florida H&R laws blogs.bicycling.com (thanks for the dead link, bicycling magazine!)
    A.k.a. The Aaron Cohen Life Protection Act, SB102. From what i gathered, the new minimums for fatal H&R are 4 years prison + 3 years license suspension
    Haven’t heard any updates on CA updates, la.streetsblog.org AB47 and AB1532.
    Info about hit-and-run from FL’s DMV: note there is much wiggle room for claimed-to-be mandatory sentences, courts can waive them if “mandatory minimum term would constitute or result in an injustice.
    There seem to be a flood of these “florida is cracking down…” stories in the media, e.g. this one regarding Charles Winzenread’s Mercedes SUV case in Clearwater in Oct 2015. Defense lawyers do say funny things.
    In Aug 2016 driver Amanda Dahl escaped FL’s supposedly mandatory minimum prison sentence, Judge Samantha Schosberg Feuer said some pretty annoying things, basically saying since Dahl didn’t mean to do it, she shouldn’t get the mandatory minimum sentence for her crime.

    much newer FL example:
    https://www.villages-news.com/2022/12/20/91-year-old-villager-sentenced-to-prison-for-hitting-bicyclists-with-her-mercedes/
    Driver Marilyn Hamilton, age 91, struck two cyclists causing serious injuries and fled the scene in Oct of 2020. She was sentenced to 5 years in prison.

29. Nathan Painter was sentenced in a remarkably sensational collision he cause while intoxicated and then fled the scene.

    “Painter was arrested in October 2013 after officials said he lost control of his pickup truck, causing a rollover crash that injured five people. Two 3-year-old boys were in critical condition following the crash, officials said. One 2-year-old girl was also injured. Chandler police said Painter lost control of his Ford F250 while driving on Ray Road near Arrowhead Drive. Officials said Painter went north off the road and drove through foliage and a retention basin. The truck came up the other side of the basin, sending it airborne. While still in the air, the truck collided with the rear window of a Nissan Pathfinder…Painter continued to drive through a dirt field and back onto Arrowhead Drive…” — azcentral.com

    I’ve never seen such a long rap sheet, over a dozen traffic violations; including previous (multiple?) DUI (also check justice courts lookup, some cases overlap but not all of them). One has to wonder what more should be done to keep people safe from such pathologically bad drivers?

    Case Minutes for CR2013453879 The plea minute is there, but the sentencing minute isn’t yet up. He plead guilty to 2 counts agg assault, and leaving the scene of serious injury; all stipulated as “dangerous” (unusual, but perhaps because of his abysmal driving record?). Ah, in the final done deal sentence, the hit-and-run is, as usual, downgraded from dangerous to non-dangerous, and downgraded from a class 2 to a class 3 (indicating the defendant didn’t “cause” the collision). I imagine the non-dangerous business is necessary to make the sentencing work out that he gets no incarceration for the hit-and-run. He should be subject to the 5/10 year license revocation (“joey’s law”) once he gets out.
    Painter was released in Dec 2021 (so something over 7 years); his sentencing minute says 10 years; which would normally mean at least 85% must be served due to truth in sentencing. There’s probation so somebody should be watching (but they obviously don’t always — see Nicholas Linsk’s driving w/o license while on probation for killing someone) to ensure he follows his driver license revocation.
    Strangely, as of now (Dec 2022) his case CR2013-453879 isn’t showing up on supreme court’s case lookup(?); it still shows on Maricopa County Superior Court directly.

30. For reference purposes here are definitions of the hit-and-run field.
    This is a bright-line distinction, either the driver(s) remained at the scene or not. If the driver is not there, it is a hit-and-run; regardless of why the driver left (didn’t know; went out for help; went for cigaretters, whatever).

    AZ Crash manual:
    Hit & Run – A crash may be considered hit and run if any driver involved in the event fled the scene, even if the driver later was apprehended or reported the crash at a later time. Enter the Unit # of the vehicle that fled the scene in the blank. If more than one unit left the scene
    list all units.
    (asdm notes: there were a couple of dozen occurences in 2009, and none in 2010-2014 where the hitandrunflag in the incident table was inconsistent with the flag in the unit table)

    MMUCC 4th Ed:
    V23. Hit and Run
    Definition: Refers to cases where the vehicle or the driver of the vehicle in transport is a contact vehicle in the crash and departs the scene without stopping to render aid or report the crash. Attributes:
    • No, Did Not Leave Scene
    • Yes, Driver or Car and Driver Left Scene
    Rationale: Important for uniformity, quality control and identification purposes in reported motor vehicle crash statistics.

    FARS 2010 Analytic Reference Manual p.114:
    V6 Hit and Run
    Definition: This element indicates whether the vehicle was a contact vehicle in the crash that
    did not stop to render aid (this can include drivers who flee the scene on foot).

31. It seems to me AZ (and other states where bicycles are not defined as vehicles) probably has this anomaly with regard to hit-and-run law:
    http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/news-columns-blogs/marcos-breton/article157835764.html
    Case involving a bicyclist crashing into a pedestrian causing serious injury and fleeing the scene on a Shared Use Path. Victim Bill Finkbeiner, in Sacramento, CA ~ June 2017.
    There is an unsettling proposal to change the CA VC in response — unsettling because it’s not clear what the unintended consequences of the proposed language might hold. AB1755 Jan 3, 2018
    http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180AB1755

32. ph

33. Are you able to find press releases? You shared/posted an article about my son, Anthony Angstadt, being hit/killed on his motorcycle. A precident was set with the sentencing of the killer/driver, but I am unable to locate it. In the past few days, two bikers have been hit/killed, by a hit & run driver of a white vehicle. I wanted to share the press release and am unable to find it.