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hit and run

Damian Kevitt Back on a Bike as Hit and Run Bill Moves to Senate Floor

8:02 AM PDT on September 3, 2013

On February 17, Damian Kevitt was struck by a mini-van in Griffith Park while riding his bicycle. Kevitt was caught on the hood until the driver took off towards an I-5 ramp. Kevitt was sucked under the car and dragged for over 600 feet. His life was spared, in part because an alert driver used his car as a shield to block other traffic from running over his broken body on the Interstate.

His right leg was amputated. Bones throughout his body were shattered. As the search went on for his attacker, Assemblyman Mike Gatto dedicated legislation to Kevitt that would extend the statute of limitations for drivers who commit hit and runs to make it just a little easier to get malicious drivers off the road.

Both Kevitt, and Gatto's hit and run law were back in the spotlight last week.

Thursday night, ABC News caught up with Kevitt who is amazingly back on the bike. Kevitt seems to be reasonably optimistic about the future and the support he's received following his crash. However, he also notes that if the driver of the Sienna that ran him down hadn't run, that he might have had a broken bone and a couple of scrapes. Instead, he's missing a leg and has a body covered in scar tissue.

While seeing Kevitt back on the bike is inspiring, the advancement of A.B. 184 is equally good news. Gatto's hit and run bill already cleared the Assembly earlier this summer. Last week, it passed a second Senate Committee, leaving just stops at the full Senate and Governor's desk before completing its legislative journey.

AB 184, provides an additional tool to law enforcement officers investigating hit-and-run offenses by extending the statute of limitations for such offenses to three years from the date of the offense, or one year after a possible suspect is identified by law enforcement, whichever is later.
“AB 184 will allow victims of hit-and-runs and law enforcement to obtain justice from cowards who do everything possible to avoid responsibility for their actions,” said Gatto after the bill passed the Assembly. “Thousands of hit-and-run victims suffer life-threatening injuries annually. Allowing the perpetrators to avoid prosecution just adds insult to these injuries.”

The final vote on AB 184 isn't scheduled yet. Given that nobody has voted against it either in Senate Committee or the Assembly floor, it's a good bet that a full vote will be scheduled soon.

Anyone with information about Kevitt's crash, please call the California Highway Patrol at (800) 835-5247.

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