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An Act To Strengthen the Penalties for Leaving the Scene of an Accident
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 29-A MRSA §2252, sub-§4,  as enacted by PL 1993, c. 683, Pt. A, §2 and affected by Pt. B, §5, is amended to read:
 
4. Violation.   A person commits a Class DC crime if that person fails to comply with this section.
Sec. 2. 29-A MRSA §2252, sub-§5,  as enacted by PL 1999, c. 670, §1, is amended to read:
 
5. Aggravated punishment category.   Notwithstanding subsection 4, a person commits a Class CB crime if that person intentionally, knowingly or recklessly fails to comply with this section and the accident resulted in serious bodily injury, as defined in Title 17-A, section 2, subsection 23, or death.
Sec. 3. 29-A MRSA §2253, sub-§3,  as enacted by PL 1993, c. 683, Pt. A, §2 and affected by Pt. B, §5, is amended to read:
 
3. Violation.   A person commits a Class ED crime if that person fails to comply with this section.
 
SUMMARY
Under current law, a person who is involved in an accident and who fails to stop or leaves the scene of the accident commits a Class E crime for accidents involving damage to the vehicle, a Class D crime for accidents involving personal injury or death and a Class C crime if the person intentionally, knowingly or recklessly leaves the scene of an accident involving serious bodily injury or death. This bill increases the penalty class for each crime to a Class D, Class C and Class B crime, respectively.