pbrown@mollp.com
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Leaving the scene of a collision with a cyclist or pedestrian is a “heinous crime” that is deserving of a penal sentence, Toronto critical injury lawyer Patrick Brown tells the Toronto Star.
One man, whose son was killed in a 2012 hit-and-run collision, is calling for the establishment of a minimum sentence for a driver who leaves the scene of an accident in Canada, says the report.
Fleeing the scene knowing that you have killed someone carries a maximum sentence of life under the Canadian Criminal Code, says the article, but no minimum penalty exists.
Aaron Cohen Life Protection Act
In Florida, leaving the scene of a collision that causes death is punishable by a minimum of four years in prison under the Aaron Cohen Life Protection Act, reports the Star.
Brown, a partner with McLeish Orlando LLP who’s represented hundreds of cyclists injured or killed in collisions with motorists, tells the Star that many times, a driver who leaves the scene of an accident may be impaired.
“It really is a heinous and repulsive crime. You’re essentially leaving somebody at the side of the road, who in all likelihood needs medical assistance, and may very well die if you don’t do something,” says Brown, a cycling advocate who proposed the Ontario coroner’s Cycling Death Review published in 2012.
Highway Traffic Act offence
The Star reports failure to remain at the scene of an accident is a Highway Traffic Act offence that carries a fine of between $400 and $2,000, along with a potential six-month prison sentence.
“It’s a weak provision, but it might be a situation where nobody’s hurt,” Brown says in the article.
“It should be a penal sentence. If it’s your second offence for impaired driving, the minimum for that is 14 days in jail. Why shouldn’t it be at least 14 days in jail? Assume you’re driving, you’ve hit somebody, you’re impaired — for whatever reason, you’re taking off. Why shouldn’t that be similar to someone who knows impaired driving is wrong, that it can cause harm to people, and that you do it a second time and you get 14 days? In those circumstances, those people don’t even have to hurt somebody,” says Brown.
