Wisconsin’s New “Hit And Run” Law
There is a new hit-and-run law in Wisconsin, signed into law by Governor Scott Walker. Under the new law, drivers who are in an accident are compelled to stop to investigate what they hit. If there is a determination that the accident caused either damage, injury or death, you are required now to provide information and assistance. The purpose of the law is to bar individuals involved in a hit and run accident from arguing the defense that they were unaware of what they hit.
In an absolutely tragic case, Jeff Kennedy and his wife Colleen, of Green Bay, tragically lost their son in a hit-and-run accident back in 2011. The driver fled the scene of the accident and argued later that he thought he hit a trash can in the street. There was a witness who testified that he was able to see the victim flying through the air, as illuminated by the headlights on the defendant’s truck. Jeff Kennedy testified during the legislative hearings on the bill in early March. The new law, which goes into effect Friday, also disallows a previous requirement that the prosecutor must prove that the driver knew they hit a victim.
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