Sign Petition to Change Hit and Run Laws in Missouri
On September 12, 2015, my 19 year old son, Matthew Brooks Stevens was walking along Hwy 59 in Neosho, MO when he was hit and killed.The man who hit my son left him dead in the middle of the highway and fled the scene. Two weeks later with an attorney, he turned himself in to authorities.
In the State of Missouri, if you leave the scene of an accident, the maximum penalty is a Felony which carries a sentence of 4 years in prison and a $5,000 fine. That’s it. There’s no suspension or revocation of a Driver’s License. And if the accident involves a pedestrian, you have to prove another crime was being committed at the time of the accident (i.e. Driving while Intoxicated) before charges can be increased to manslaughter if the accident resulted in a death. This needs to change!!!
For people who kill others with their vehicle and then flee the accident, there needs to be stiffer penalties! I am advocating for change. I’m proposing mandatory sentences, higher fines and a minimum 3-5 year suspension or revocation of licenses. There are other states around Missouri who have modified their laws on Hit & Run to include the very punishments that I just described, yet Missouri has done nothing to create change. Please help send a clear message to legislators that our loved ones are more valuable than a $5,000 fine! Thank you for your support!
Matthew’s mother Stacey Stevens started this petition with a single signature, and now has 83,657 supporters.
