Finish line in sight for family pushing for hit-and-run bill
By Clare Kaley Published: March 16, 2016, 10:48 pm Updated: March 17, 2016, 8:55 am
It seemed like a long shot for a local family, a bill to close a loophole for hit-and-run drivers passed the State Senate on Tuesday night, in the 11th hour of the Senate’s final day in session.
Assembly Bill 201 requires a driver who hits something to get out and investigate what they hit. It’s meant to avoid a situation where someone could hit a person with their vehicle, and use the defense they thought they hit something else.
That’s what happened to Jeff and Colleen Kennedy’s son five years ago, when their son, John, was hit and killed by a driver who claimed he though the hit a garbage can.
“It’s like a marathon,” said Jeff Kennedy, “you’re at that 26 mile mark, do you celebrate at 26 miles knowing you’ve got that 0.2 miles to go? You want to get that last 0.2 miles before you start celebrating.”
The 0.2 miles left on this race, a signature from Governor Scott Walker. At a stop in Green Bay on Wednesday, he commented on the bill.
“We’ll look at all of them, but that’s obviously one we’re very interested in,” said Governor Walker, “we made some similar changes in terms of repeat drunk drivers, but clearly an area that needs to be addressed.”
Now, the Kennedy’s say they’ll wait to hear, and hope the bill becomes the law.