Gov. Brown signs Gatto’s bill to create hit-and-run driver alerts

For a period of time, Assemblyman Mike Gatto couldn’t open a newspaper without reading about a tragic hit-and-run collision.

Wanting to come up with a way to bring these drivers to justice, he proposed a “yellow alert” system that would allow local police to use digital freeway signs to ask drivers to help identify hit-and-run suspects.

Gov. Jerry Brown this week signed Assembly Bill 8 into law.

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Starting in January, local law enforcement agencies will be able to tap into the state’s existing network of digital freeway signs to push out information — only when enough is available — about suspected hit-and-run vehicles and drivers when the collision results in a fatality or serious bodily injury.

The information would include more than a generic car description, such as a partial license plate number along with the make, model and color of the car, to alert drivers to be on the lookout for a fleeing vehicle.

Additionally, the details will only be broadcast on freeways in the area where the collision occurred. If the crash occurred in Glendale, for example, that would include the Glendale (2), the Golden State (5) and the Ventura (134) freeways, Gatto said.

“These are preventable deaths,” Gatto said by phone this week, adding that hit-and-run drivers may be in the best position to render aid or call an ambulance for whomever they struck. “If you flee scene, that’s a crime, and there’s a good chance the person perishes.”

Knowing that their information could be broadcast, he added, could cause drivers to think twice before fleeing the scene.

Through September of this year, Glendale police have logged 565 hit-and-run reports, but just 33 drivers have been arrested.

Those numbers include a fatal crash in which a 4-year-old girl, Violeta Khachatoorians, was killed after running into oncoming traffic while playing in the frontyard of her apartment complex with her parents.

The driver fled the scene, but the following morning, after public outcry and widespread media coverage, the driver turned himself in.

Last year, police logged 732 hit-and-run reports, though just 29 drivers were arrested.

“I think having an alert system like that will be helpful — that way we can get information out quickly to the public,” said Glendale Police Chief Rob Castro, adding that if suspects flee the city and license plate details are unavailable, it’s tough for police to track them down.

Next week, he added, the Glendale City Council is slated to consider allowing the city manager to authorize rewards of up to a certain amount for information on hit-and-run drivers.

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Alene Tchekmedyian, alene.tchekmedyian@latimes.com

Twitter: @atchek