Bill would allow longer sentences for work zone reckless driving
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Eighteen people died in Indiana work zone crashes in 2016, according to the National Work Zone Safety Information Clearinghouse.
A Republican state representative wants to make those drivers think twice, by giving the courts the option to make sentences longer.
Under current law, the state says if you drive recklessly through a work zone and hurt or kill a highway worker, you could end up paying a $10,000 fine and serving up to six years behind bars.
“But it (current law) does not separate each victim as a separate offense,” State Rep. John Young, a Republican from Franklin, said
Young says he wants to change that with a new bill.
“It would give the court the ability to sentence a person to consecutive sentences for each person that they killed or injured,” Young said of the bill he plans to propose.
Young said a 2014 crash that killed two construction workers on Interstate 69 is his main reason for creating the bill.
The driver was convicted of two counts of reckless driving in a highway work zone causing death and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
But Young says the driver appealed those convictions: “The court of appeals basically said for that type of offense, you could only be sentenced for one victim.”
“I just didn’t think it was justice, that when you take a life, you should not be held responsible for each life that you take,” Young explained.
Young told 24-Hour News 8 a similar hit-and run bill he proposed last session became law. He’s hoping to carry that momentum.
“I don’t think the bill would be controversial. I think it serves the ends of justice,” Young explained.
“We regularly update and review our own work zone safety standards to minimize the possibility of accidents taking place, but there are sadly times when we, on our own, cannot prevent the loss of life or serious injury,” said Chris Myers, Indiana Department of Transportation Communications Director for the Greenfield District.
Young said he feels like this bill would fill what he called a gap in current state law. He said he’s hoping the bill won’t be an uphill battle.