The Senate Corrections and Criminal Law Committee heard Sen. Koch’s SB 479 on motor vehicle related offenses. The bill provides that a person who commits a Class A misdemeanor or a felony by failing to comply with the duties of the operator of a motor vehicle involved in an accident commits a separate offense for each person whose serious bodily injury or death is caused by the person’s failure to comply with those duties. The bill also provides that it is a Level 4 felony (instead of a Level 5 felony) for a vehicle operator to cause the death of another person when: (1) the vehicle operator’s blood or breath has a certain alcohol concentration; (2) the vehicle operator’s blood contains a controlled substance or its metabolite; or (3) the vehicle operator is intoxicated; if, in addition, the vehicle operator causes the death of the other person when the driving privileges of the vehicle operator are suspended under the habitual traffic violator law. The bill further provides that the felony of failing to comply with the duties of the operator of a motor vehicle involved in an accident resulting in serious bodily injury or death is a “crime of violence” for purposes of the statute concerning the determination of whether terms of imprisonment shall be served concurrently or consecutively.
The Lawrence County Prosecutor and the Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council testified in favor of the bill. The Indiana Public Defender Council testified against the bill. The bill passed 9-0.
Read the bill at http://iga.in.gov/legislative/2017/bills/senate/479