AI-generated summary. We recommend consulting the bill text for important decisions.

Utah's current hit-and-run law treats leaving the scene of an accident as a flat class B misdemeanor for property damage and a class A misdemeanor for injury, regardless of a driver's history. This bill creates a tiered penalty structure that escalates charges based on prior convictions: a driver who flees an accident involving property damage and has a prior DUI or prior hit-and-run conviction within the past 10 years faces a class A misdemeanor instead of a class B; a second or felony-level prior conviction bumps the charge to a third degree felony. For accidents involving injury, the baseline remains a class A misdemeanor, but prior DUI convictions or multiple prior hit-and-run convictions can elevate the charge to a third degree or even second degree felony. The bill also establishes mandatory minimum sentences for these elevated charges — including jail time, fines, and potential substance abuse screening — and creates an affirmative defense allowing a driver to avoid the enhanced charge by providing a negative drug or alcohol test taken shortly after the incident.