LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Tougher penalties could be issued to reckless drivers if a new senate bill passes.
Testimony for Senate Bill 322, otherwise known as "Rex's Law", was heard in Carson City on Tuesday.
The bill was named in honor of 13-year-old Rex Patchett who was hit and killed by a reckless driver last March.
Police said the reckless driver was going nearly three times the posted speed limit when he hit Patchett near Jack and Terry Mannion Middle School.
His father Jason said that day, March 7, 2022, still haunts his family.
"This is our painful reality and one we have been forced into with no way to escape," Patchett told lawmakers. "On March 7, my family and I were sentenced to life in the prison in the prison of all prisons, the prison of lifelong pain, grief, fear, uncertainty, loss, anger, sorrow, heartache, despair, hopelessness, and complete sadness. We were given no leniency, plea deal, suspended sentence or probation. We were given nothing to save us from the hellish consequences from [the driver's] actions."
Currently, convicted reckless drivers are only sentenced to spend one to six years in jail.
However, some drivers are eligible for probation after only serving two years behind bars.
Patchett said penalties should be stricter.
"If the person who killed my son was under the influence, the punishment would be different," Patchett said. "The choice to drive 97 miles per hour in a 35 miles per hour zone, in front of a school, in a residential neighborhood, at a time of day when children are present, stone cold sober where they had full control of their abilities, the potential sentence of one to six years in prison doesn't provide adequate justice. The punishment doesn't match the crime."
Senate Bill 322 would increase the penalty to up to 20 years in jail depending on how fast the driver was going at the time of the crash.
Erin Breen is the director of the Road Equity Alliance Project at the Transportation Research Center at UNLV's College of Engineering. She said their research showed deaths related to reckless driving are trending up.
"From 2018 to 2022, there have been 210 crashes where a reckless driver was the top contributing factor," Breen said. "Those numbers may not be complete and could continue to grow as more data from 2022 comes in."
According to Breen, 80% of those crashes were in Clark County and most of those reckless drivers were between 21 and 34 years old.
"Is it a factor of maturity? Should we do a better job of warning of the dangers of bad decisions because that's what reckless driving comes down to," Breen asked. "The answer is always yes."
Assemblyman Toby Yurek also cited state traffic data, which he said goes back to 1991.
"In 2022, we saw one of the highest traffic death counts in the past 32 years," Yurek said. "Tickets for drivers going over 100 miles per hour jumped 26% in 2020 and more than 4,400 drivers were cited. That's nearly 900 more compared to 2019."
Yurek, who is also a co-sponsor of the bill, served as a police officer for the City of Henderson for two decades before being elected to the Nevada legislature. He said the rise in these types of crashes is "alarming".
"I had the unfortunate experience of responding to traffic accidents where the thoughtless behavior of one individual led to the death of another. I can't get rid of the images of dead, mutilated, and mangled bodies that I've seen over the years," Yurek said. "Unfortunately, I also saw how this heartbreak altered the lives of surviving family members who were forced to put their lives back together after the perpetrator was set free to live their lives as normal. This is unacceptable and painful to victim's families who deserve equitable punishment for their loss."
Yurek is not alone in calling for change.
UMC trauma surgeon Dr. Deborah Ann Kuhls told lawmakers she also sees how these crashes impact families.
"When I first moved here, I was horrified by the number of adults and children I saw that are struck by vehicles. Many that survive won't return to a productive life," Kuhls said. "There are a lot of bad things that happen in our world and I see a lot of the consequences of those bad things in my work. [Pedestrians] are very vulnerable road users even at low speeds."
Others that voiced their support for the bill include the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, the Nevada District Attorneys Association, and the Washoe County Sheriff's Office. No one testified against the bill.
As for the Patchett family, Jason said he hopes this bill becomes law to help future families.
"I know Senate Bill 322 is not going to bring my son back nor will it increase the penalty for the reckless driver who killed my son," Patchett said. "This is our family's effort to continue Rex's legacy. This is bill is also about standing up for the countless victims and providing adequate justice for them."
As of Tuesday afternoon, no future hearing dates have been set.
