Hit-Run Cases Down Despite Recent Accidents

Despite a rash of sensational hit-and-run traffic accidents in recent days--some of them involving children--the number of such incidents resulting in death and injury is down from past years, according to the California Highway Patrol.

Hit-and-run drivers were involved in 45 fatal accidents and 3,560 injury accidents in Los Angeles County in the first half of this year. Last year, hit-and-run drivers were involved in 120 fatal accidents and 8,629 injury accidents.

The highest number in the last five years--154 fatal hit-and-runs--was recorded in 1994, the CHP reported.

CHP officials declined to speculate on why the numbers have dropped, as they have statewide. But Los Angeles Police Department traffic officers credited new state laws cracking down on unlicensed and uninsured drivers.

After police impound unregistered cars in regular neighborhood sweeps, hit-and-run accidents drop off in those areas for a month or two, said Lt. Charles Kunz of the LAPD’s traffic coordination section.

“It is a common belief among law enforcement officials that a small number of unregistered vehicles or unlicensed drivers are involved in a major portion of hit-and-run accidents,” Kunz said.

LAPD Officer R.S. Uber, head of the Valley Traffic Division detective unit, credited the decline to laws requiring motorists to show proof of insurance before registering vehicles and empowering authorities to impound vehicles driven by unlicensed drivers.

Other experts wondered whether the laws have had the opposite effect of making uninsured and unlicensed drivers more fearful of stopping after an accident. But police say there is no single reason that compels people to leave an accident scene.

Many hit-and-run drivers are overwhelmed by the consequences of what they have done and make a split-second decision to try to escape the fallout, some psychologists say.

“What comes to mind are the immediate negatives and what will happen if people find out,” said Jerald Jellison, a professor of social psychology at USC. “You sort of panic, and once you do that, then it’s hard to stop.”

The frequency of these accidents could be the result of the big-city isolation many people feel, he said.

“It’s part of the impersonal quality of urban life,” Jellison said. “The informal surveillance and policing that used to be there in smaller communities is decreasing. We’re aware that we can do this and no one will find out.”

“Mainly, people are scared,” said Det. Charlie Choe, who investigates hit-and-run accidents for the LAPD’s South Traffic Division. “Especially when they feel someone is injured severely, they don’t know what to do.”

Police say they solve only about half of hit-and-run cases.

“It’s pretty hard, because traffic accidents don’t have a motive,” Choe said. “We have to be able to place the driver behind the wheel. Without physical evidence or witnesses who could help us, it’s not easy.”

Hit-and-runs have gained increased attention after a spate of such incidents in recent days.

On Sunday, two sisters acting as good Samaritans were struck by a hit-and-run driver on the Pomona Freeway early Sunday, and a 5-year-old boy was killed in South-Central Los Angeles.

An 18-year-old bicyclist died Sunday after he was struck by a hit-and-run driver Saturday in downtown Los Angeles.

Authorities are still looking for the drivers in those incidents.

A 49-year-old pedestrian also was killed Sunday by a hit-and-run driver who ran a red light in downtown Los Angeles. Police arrested the driver and booked him on suspicion of manslaughter.

Last week, a woman and her 10-month-old daughter were severely injured when a motorist struck them in the San Fernando Valley. The suspect, a veteran Los Angeles police officer, committed suicide Friday after being confronted by investigators.

CHP spokesman Rhett Price said hit-and-run victims are most often pedestrians who are not paying attention to traffic and motorists in what he calls “danger zones,” repairing or standing near a stranded vehicle in an emergency lane or in the middle of the road.

Traffic safety experts Monday offered common-sense tips to motorists and pedestrians.

“As a pedestrian, the only thing you can do is keep your eyes open,” said Det. Kirk Hunter of the West Traffic Division. He is searching for a hit-and-run motorist who ran a red light and critically injured a pedestrian in Venice last Thursday.

CHP Sgt. Ernie Garcia also urged motorists to stay in their car until help arrives. “A lot of people will open their door and step out, forgetting where they are,” he said. “If you’re going to stop to render assistance, stop ahead of the accident and stop on the right shoulder” and use the call box to seek help.

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Hit-and-Run Fatalities

Here are the numbers of hit-and-run incidents in which someone was killed in Los Angeles County and statewide since 1992:

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Year L.A. County State 1992 134 330 1993 109 355 1994 154 376 1995 122 329 1996 120 3 1997* 45 118 Totals 684 1,829

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Source: California Highway Patrol