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Louisiana lawmakers consider tougher hit-and-run penalties after mothers testify at capitol
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BATON ROUGE - Parents scarred by their children's deaths joined forces at the State Capitol, asking for stiffer penalties for hit-and-run drivers.
After lawmakers heard desperate pleas from parents, they advanced a bill to increase penalties and require hearings before a suspect's bail is set. The proposed bill would also create an alert system to disseminate vehicle information to the public.
Last year, Holly Crowe's daughter, Jody Mann, was also hit and killed, this time in Livingston Parish, by a driver who left the scene. Mann lay in the road for nearly an hour waiting for help, and weeks later died from her injuries.
"I don't think I'll ever be at peace," Crowe said. I don't know if that's possible."
Gay Begnaud's daughter, Camille Angelle, was killed four years ago as she walked along a road in Breaux Bridge during the early morning hours.
"She was hit, thrown into a ditch, she drowned, and he left," Begnaud said. "It didn't have to happen that way."
While investigators eventually tracked down the man they say was responsible for Angelle's death, Begnaud says she wants to see more done to protect future parents from the pain she has experienced.
According to crash report data from LSU, there were 74 fatal hit-and-run crashes in 2024, with most happening in New Orleans.
The bill is headed to the House floor.
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