A bicyclist who was killed on Miami’s Rickenbacker Causeway is about to be immortalized in state law. A bill that's ready for the governor's signature creates minimum penalties for hit and run drivers. It's known as the Aaron Cohen Life Protection Act.Cohen was 36 years old when he was killed hit by a hit and run driver.
Prosecutors suspected the driver had been drinking, but his blood alcohol level was normal when he turned himself in the next day.
Representative Irv Slosberg, D-Boca Raton, says the driver got a lesser sentence as a result.
“He served 264 days in jail," Slosberg said on the House floor. "It’s unfortunate, but it’s unjust that drunk drivers are incentivized by Florida’s law to leave the scene of a crime.”
A DUI manslaughter conviction brings a minimum 4-year prison sentence. But Florida currently has no mandatory sentence for leaving the scene of a fatal crash.
Under the Aaron Cohen act, drivers who flee crashes resulting in death will now face a 4-year mandatory sentence and other penalties.