Harsher hit-and-run penalties sought

Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez is pushing for tougher penalties for hit-and-run drivers as a perpetrator waits to receive a roughly one- to four-year sentence for killing a Bronx man with his vehicle on Christmas Eve 2012.

“We’ll also call for a change in the culture around hit-and-run crashes, especially those that result in death,” Mr. Rodriguez said at a March 21 press conference in front of City Hall.

The councilman, who represents Upper Manhattan and parts of Marble Hill, called for state legislators to pass a bill amending the penalty for leaving the scene of a hit-and-run accident — as Mitchum Williams reportedly did after fatally striking Josbel Rivera over a year ago. Legislation in the state Assembly and Senate changes the classification for such a crime from a class “E” misdemeanor to at least a class “B” misdemeanor, with the crime worsening to a class “D” or “C” felony if the victim is seriously injured or dies.

Mr. Rodriguez’s initiative to support the law came as he and other lawmakers including Mayor Bill de Blasio have sought to reduce traffic fatalities to none in the plan known as Vision Zero. With the penal code in its current form, Mr. Williams pleaded guilty to a class “D” felony (it would be a “C” were the proposed change already in place) in Bronx Criminal Court on Monday.

Family members of Mr. Rivera including his mother and brother Shaniel Rivera attended last week’s press conference with Mr. Rodriguez. While disappointed that Mr. Williams faces a relatively light penalty under the current penal code, they voiced support for Mr. Rodriguez’s efforts, which have backing from other lawmakers including state Sen. Adriano Espaillat.

“With Vision Zero, we hopefully want the laws pushed forward and more severe penalties for cases that happen like this,” Shaniel Rivera said. “It needs to be taken care of, because it could happen to someone else…. This has to be more severe because it’s us, the family, that has to suffer.”

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