New proposal would establish a statewide hit and run alert system

ADAMS TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Hit and run accidents happen far more often than you’d think. According to AAA, a hit and run happens every 43 seconds and 73 percent of them end with just property damage but, most of the time, the guilty party is never found.

“We do currently work with local police if they are looking for a vehicle involved in a hit and run, however statewide would make a larger impact,” said Aimee Thompson who’s the Co-Owner of Classic Automotive

That’s exactly what a new proposal by state lawmakers would do.

“An investigator is reporting the incident, an alert would go to PennDOT then automatically go out to the automobile repair shops. Letting them know what the make and model of the car was, potential damage may be scene and any additional information that would help identify the car and owner,” said Rep. Morgan Cephas who represents parts of Philadelphia County.

It’s similar to an Amber Alert to body shops, but if established it would be called Jay’s Alert after an eight-year-old girl in Philadelphia that lost her life in a hit and run accident. That driver was only caught because of an auto body shop.

“He let his girlfriend take his car over to another county to a car shop and luckily because it was all over the news, the car shop owner at the time reported it,” Cephas said.

This new alert system is being proposed at a time where traffic accidents are up statewide and auto body owners feel this would be a benefit to drivers if lawmakers can push it through in this year’s legislative session.

“I do think the Jay Alert will be a positive influence to the community, it will have more of impact on the insured. We have many that come in for an estimate but have been hit in a parking lot or hit and run and without someone to put that claim onto it goes under their own insurance,” Thompson said.

Senate Bill 730 is a companion bill to the House Bill and it currently is in the Appropriations Committee.

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