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

House Bill 239, sponsored by Representative Chuck Kopp of Anchorage, would elevate criminally negligent homicide from a Class B felony to a Class A felony when the driver also fails to stop and render aid. The change would increase the presumptive sentence for first-time offenders from one to three years to four to seven years. The bill would also require some additional consecutive time for the failure to render assistance charge.

Kopp said the legislation addresses cases where drivers leave victims to die rather than calling for help. He said about a quarter of pedestrian deaths in Anchorage involve drivers who leave the scene.

"These are family members, these are sons, daughters, parents, people we know, our neighbors, and their final moments were not just marked by tragedy, but by abandonment," Kopp said.

Kelly Trent testified about the death of her son Chase Bowersox, who was killed in a hit-and-run crash on the Glenn Highway on January 2, 2021. She said the driver who killed her son received a two and a half year sentence and served only a few weeks in jail after sentencing due to good time credits and time already served.

"The sentence that Chase's killer received is not justice," Trent said. "It is a sentence that tells our community that human life does not mean what it should to the state of Alaska."

Trent said her son's body was not found for approximately four hours after the crash. She said the driver knew Chase and made the choice to leave him alongside the highway and drive home to bed.

"If he had stopped, called for help, and been with Chase until help arrived, I would not even be addressing you all," Trent said. "But his killer made the choice to leave him to die along the road."

Anchorage Police Chief Sean Case testified in support of the bill on behalf of the Anchorage Police Department and the Alaska Association of Chiefs of Police. He said fleeing the scene is not a procedural violation but a deliberate act that compounds harm and denies victims potentially life-saving assistance.

"House Bill 239 sends a clear message. Leaving the scene of a fatal crash is not just irresponsible, it is criminally inexcusable," Case said.

Gary Zepp, staff to Representative Kopp, said Anchorage has recorded 94 vehicle-pedestrian-bicycle fatalities since 2015, an average of almost 10 per year. Since 2021, there have been 41 such fatalities. In 2024, Anchorage had a record 15 fatal pedestrian hit-and-run crashes.

Zepp said plea constraints, low presumptive sentence ranges, sentence reductions for parole and good time, and concurrent sentencing pull sentences down even when drivers flee or conceal evidence.

Senator Forrest Dunbar asked Case whether the current 10-year maximum for failure to render assistance was sufficient. Case said the benefit of the bill is that it requires consecutive rather than concurrent sentencing, so offenders would serve one sentence and then the next rather than both at the same time.

Senator David Eastman questioned whether longer prison sentences would deter hit-and-run behavior, noting that research shows longer sentences do not generally deter crime, particularly for first-time offenders. Case said operating a vehicle under the influence is different because people make conscious decisions before drinking and driving, and higher penalties can influence those advance decisions.

Chair Matt Claman asked Case whether the penalty for failure to stop should be increased regardless of whether the driving itself was criminal. Case said he would not argue against that approach, noting that the decision to leave someone on the roadway after striking them deserves serious consequences whether the driving was criminal or not.

The committee did not take action on the bill. Claman said anyone considering amendments should submit them electronically by April 15 at 5 p.m. The committee will hold another hearing on the bill at a future date.