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March 2, 2005 CONTACT: Bill Bird (916) 445-3353 Aanestad-Romero Bill Will Limit Dangerous Police Chases News Conference Monday on, SB 718, “Kristie's Law” SACRAMENTO: Senator Sam Aanestad (R-Grass Valley) and Senator Gloria Romero (D-Los Angeles) will hold a joint news conference this Monday, March 7th to reveal plans for legislation that would save innocent lives that are lost during high-speed chases involving law enforcement agencies in California. The news conference on “Kristie's Law” will take place MONDAY, March 7th. It will be held in Room 1190 of the State Capitol at 11:00 AM. “It is our responsibility, as State Legislators, to protect California citizens from tragic circumstances that are within our control,” said Senator Aanestad. “The innocent bystander who is hurt or killed from a high-speed police chase is nothing less than the most vulnerable innocent victim not, “collateral damage.” SB 718 is named in honor of Kristie Priano, a 15-year old Chico honor student who was killed during a police pursuit in January, 2002. The driver that struck and killed Priano was a 15-year old teenager who was already known to police. Senator Aanestad and Senator Romero are convinced that Kristie's Law will save innocent lives. California far and away leads the nation in the number of deaths caused by high-speed law-enforcement pursuits. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration statistics show 51 Californians were killed during high-speed police pursuits in 2001 – an average of nearly one per week. Nearly half of the deaths were innocent bystanders or drivers of other vehicles that were not involved as a suspect or officer in the pursuit . NHTSA statistics from the same year show California ranked first in deaths from pursuits by a wide margin, close to the combined totals of New York , New Jersey , Michigan and Florida . Senator Aanestad stressed that the tragedy surrounding the loss of innocent lives has not stemmed since he introduced a similar bill last year. The joint legislative effort from Senator Aanestad and Senator Romero will rely heavily on input from law enforcement leaders, national experts and families of innocent victims who have died from accidents involving high-speed pursuits. The Senate Public Safety Committee will hold an informational hearing on “Kristie's Law” on March 9th. The hearing is designed to gather input from all interested parties, which will be used to craft the actual wording of “Kristie's Law.” For more information about the upcoming news conference, or to schedule an interview with Senator Aanestad, please contact Communications Director Bill Bird at (916) 445-3353 or on his cell phone at (916) 397-5877.
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