Thread: Mourning mom wants new hit-and-run law

Mourning mom wants new hit-and-run law
Says hit-and-run penalty too weak to deter drivers
By James Baetke, Daily Camera
Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Three months after her 19-year-old daughter was struck by two separate hit-and-run drivers and left for dead on a busy highway north of Longmont, Judy Lujan's pain and frustration are still evident.

"I have nothing but contempt for anyone who could drive off and leave a fellow human being to die on the highway like roadkill," Lujan said.

The mother and about three dozen friends and family members gathered for a tribute Saturday at the spot on U.S. 287 near Vermillion Road where her daughter, former Boulder High School student Cerridwyn "Kerry" Lujan, was killed.

Those close to her helped dedicate a sign there in her memory and want harsher penalties for hit-and-run drivers.

Gatherers wept as a ceremonial prayer was chanted by an American Indian elder, blessing her and the roadside memorial. The site features a sign that reads in part: "Please Drive Safely. In Memory for Kerry."

"The sign shows that somebody who was loved was killed here," Judy Lujan said. "I still can't believe my daughter is gone."

Kerry Lujan was drunk and standing in the middle of the highway early May 20 when she was hit by a Nissan Pathfinder, according to police.

The suspected driver, Jeremy Raisch, 34, of Windsor, surrendered to police about 10 hours later and faces charges of leaving the scene of an accident, a felony, and failing to provide police with information, a misdemeanor.

Based on a witness account, authorities are still looking for a second driver who hit Kerry Lujan after she was already struck.

Although there's no evidence Raisch was under the influence of alcohol, Judy Lujan said it's haunting to think that the drivers may have been drinking and knew they'd be in more trouble if they stopped. She's lobbying state lawmakers to strengthen the penalties for hit-and-run accidents.

"I would like someone to have as much to lose for hitting-and-running as people driving under the influence," she said Saturday. "It's to the driver's advantage not to stop."

According to Colorado laws, a drunken driver who kills somebody faces a charge of vehicular homicide, a Class 3 felony punishable by four to 12 years in prison. Leaving the scene of a fatal accident is a Class 4 felony, punishable by two to six years.

During Saturday's dedication, Kerry Lujan's friends read letters saying goodbye and released balloons with personal messages written on them.

"You are always going to be with me," one message read.

Another said: "Feel Da Breeze, Thunderchief, Ure here."

Eli Lujan, the victim's brother, held back tears as he described the difficulty of dealing with his sister's sudden death.

"This sign is a permanent marker of what happened," he said. "Kerry was a pesky kid sister and always wanted to follow me around.

"I wasn't there for her the way I wanted to be, and her death taught me not to take things for granted."

Anyone with information on the second driver suspected of hitting Lujan is asked to call the State Patrol at 303-239-4583.

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/news/2 ... d-run-law/

THIS HAS ALWAYS HAPPENED SINCE THE BEGINNING OF USAGE OF CARS:

HIT AND RUN! IT IS A TERRIBLE AWFUL TRUTH!

EVERYONE DOES NOT NEED A LICENSE. IT SHOULD NEVER BE A PROGRAM IN WHICH LICENSES ARE JUST HANDED TO PEOPLE AS A NECESSITY.

LICENSE IS AN EARNED PRIVILEGE! DON'T GIVE THEM AS A TREAT, LIKE CANDY!

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

IF THIS GIRL WAS DRUNK AND IN THE MIDDLE OF A BUSY ROAD; SHE ADDED TO THE ODDS OF BEING KILLED....SO FAULT IS WITH HER, TOO.

PEOPLE CAN HIT SOMETHING IN THE ROAD AND NOT REALIZE WHAT THEY HIT.

I KNOW OF TWO CASES IN MY LIFETIME HEARING ABOUT. ONE WAS A RELATIVE IN A FLORIDA BUSY HIGHWAY WAS HIT SO MANY TIME THERE WAS VERY LITTLE PHYSICAL BODY TO ID IT AS HIM. THIS IS SO AWFUL OF A SITUATION. ROADS ARE DANGEROUS!

ANOTHER HAPPENED HERE IN MY TOWN AT HALLOWEEN ON THE BY PASS OF TWO YOUNG BOY CROSSING THE ROAD. IT WAS AWFUL, AWFUL.

Kerry Lujan was drunk and standing in the middle of the highway early May 20 when she was hit by a Nissan Pathfinder,

It would seem Kerry is not exactly innocent. She was drunk, underage, and inebriated enough to be standing in middle of the road. The mom's right about the hit-and-runners needing harsher sentences, but she should also consider her daughter's personal responsibility.

Kerry Lujan was drunk and standing in the middle of the highway early May 20 when she was hit by a Nissan Pathfinder, according to police.

While the drivers who hit her should be fined for leaving, I don't believe they should be punished for hitting her. How many drivers are expecting someone to be standing in the middle of the highway? There is NO reason for anyone to be standing in the middle of a highway! She would still be alive if she had not been drunk. This is one of the reasons why police will ticket a drunk walker, they are a danger to themselves.

miguelina wrote:

While the drivers who hit her should be fined for leaving, I don't believe they should be punished for hitting her.

IMO, a fine isn't enough for the crime of hit and run, especially when death or injury are a result. the driver should receive mandatory prison time for his crime. Regardless of fault, he should have never left the scene of the accident. If he shared no responsibility, he had nothing to fear. However, I suspect he was probably drunk (or high) too. That is the only explanation that seems to fit. Yes, the girls bad judgement was probably the main contributer in her death but if the individual that hit her had been sober the accident may have been avoided.

My only real point here is that, IMO, a fine is not enough in this case.

While I certainly can feel for this woman, I'm confused as to exactly what she is looking for because, according to the article, Colorado already has some pretty strict penalties for leaving the scene of an accident:

. Leaving the scene of a fatal accident is a Class 4 felony, punishable by two to six years.



And this guy who turned himself in has not exactly walked away scot free:


The suspected driver, Jeremy Raisch, 34, of Windsor, surrendered to police about 10 hours later and faces charges of leaving the scene of an accident, a felony, and failing to provide police with information, a misdemeanor.


Even if he had stopped at the time of the accident, given the circumstances and the girl's culpability in her own death, there is no guarantee that he'd have been charged in any form or fashion in connection with actually striking her. And that includes even if he'd been drinking......a fact which would have been determined despite the fact that he turned himself in some 10 hours later since regular alcohol testing can detect alcohol for up to 24 hours and there is also another, more comprehensive test, which can detect it up to 80 hours later. And, as we see from the article:


Although there's no evidence Raisch was under the influence of alcohol,



I would like someone to have as much to lose for hitting-and-running as people driving under the influence," she said Saturday. "It's to the driver's advantage not to stop."


Again, I'm just not sure what she wants because I have to disagree with her that it's to a driver's advantage not to stop after hitting someone. How is being charged with a felony, facing the possibility of 2-6 years in prison, having a life long felony conviction on one's record, loss of a driver's license, and who knows how much in costs and fines to be paid to the courts and DMV to the driver's advantage?