The Alaska Senate Judiciary Committee heard testimony Tuesday on legislation that would increase prison sentences for drivers who cause fatal crashes and flee the scene.

House Bill 239 would elevate criminally negligent homicide from a Class B to Class A felony when the driver also fails to render aid. This change would increase presumptive sentences for first-time offenders from one to three years to four to seven years. The bill would also require some additional consecutive time for failure to render assistance.

Gary Zepp, staff to bill sponsor Representative Copp, told senators that Anchorage has recorded 94 vehicle-pedestrian-bicycle fatalities since 2015, with a record 15 fatal hit-and-runs in 2024. "Headlines in Alaska continually report fatal pedestrian hit-and-run crashes, and alarmingly low prison sentences for running over a person, not stopping to render assistance and leaving them to die in the road," Zepp said.

Kelly Trent testified that her son Chase Bowersox was killed in a January 2021 hit-and-run on the Glenn Highway. The driver initially faced murder and manslaughter charges but ultimately received a plea deal for criminally negligent homicide and leaving the scene, serving only weeks in jail after sentence reductions. Trent expressed concern about the adequacy of current sentencing guidelines, stating that the sentence received by her son's killer does not reflect the value the state places on human life.

Several senators questioned whether longer sentences would actually deter hit-and-run behavior. "The research is pretty conclusive that longer prison sentences do not deter crime," Senator Stevens said. Chief Sean Case argued that higher penalties could influence decisions drivers make before getting behind the wheel while impaired, similar to how DUI enforcement affects behavior.

The committee took no action Tuesday. Chairman Klayman said senators considering amendments must submit them by April 15 at 5 p.m.