COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
Senate Bill No. 420
(By Senators Snyder, Unger, Anderson, Edgell, Kessler and Ball)
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[Originating in the Committee on the Judiciary;
reported February 10, 1999.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact section one, article four, chapter
seventeen-c of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine
hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to the duties of
drivers involved in accidents; clarifying duty to remain at
scene of accident and to render aid to an injured person;
and increasing the criminal penalties for leaving the scene
of an accident resulting in a person's death.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section one, article four, chapter seventeen-c of the
code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as
amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 4. ACCIDENTS.
§17C-4-1. Accidents involving death or personal injuries.
(a) The driver of any vehicle involved in an accident
resulting in injury to or death of any person shall immediately
stop such the vehicle at the scene of such the accident or as close thereto as possible but shall then forthwith return to and
in every event shall remain at the scene of the accident until he
or she has fulfilled complied with the requirements of section
three of this article: Provided, That the driver may leave the
scene of the accident as may reasonably be necessary for the
purpose of rendering assistance to an injured person as required
by said section three. Every such stop shall be made without
obstructing traffic more than is necessary.
(b) Any person failing to stop or to comply with said
requirements under such circumstances shall violating the
provisions of subsection (a) of this section
after being involved
in an accident resulting in the death of any person is guilty of
a felony and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by
imprisonment confinement in a correctional facility for not less
than thirty days nor more than one year nor more than three years
or by fine of fined not less than one hundred thousand dollars
nor more than five thousand dollars, or by both such fine and
imprisonment.
(c) Any person violating the provisions of subsection (a) of
this section after being involved in an accident resulting in physical injury to any person is guilty of a misdemeanor and,
upon conviction thereof, shall be punished by confinement in a
county or regional jail for not less than thirty days nor more
than one year, or fined not less than one hundred dollars nor
more than five thousand dollars, or both.
(c) (d) The commissioner shall revoke the license or permit
to drive and any nonresident operating privilege of the any
person so convicted pursuant to the provisions of this section
for a period of one year.
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(NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to create a separate
felony offense for leaving the scene of an accident that results
in the death of a person and to clarify provisions governing the
duty to remain at the scene of an accident and to render
assistance to an injured person.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.)