Authorizing the Committee on Public Safety to hold hearings on the scourge of vehicular hit and run incidents in Philadelphia, to give voice to victims and their families, and seek solutions to reduce and then eliminate this problem from our City.

WHEREAS, On an average day in Philadelphia, 911 will receive a report of a vehicular hit and run 40 times a day, once every thirty-six minutes; and

WHEREAS, In 2017 and 2018, 29,000 hit and runs occurred, overwhelming investigators in the Accident Investigation Unit; and

WHEREAS, Despite some of the common perceptions, these issues happen all over Philadelphia, incidents occurred in 26,000 different locations in 2017 and 2018; and

WHEREAS, There are clusters and patterns in the data, however, 1,200 locations saw more than three incidents over the two-year period; and

WHEREAS, The location of vehicular hit and runs is as varied as the City is, with 37 at the intersection of Bustleton & Cottman, 21 occurring at the Philadelphia Zoo, and one or nearly two a month over the two-year period at each location; and

WHEREAS, While most vehicular hit and runs involve property damage hundreds of times over a two-year period, hit and runs also resulted in hundreds of victims hospitalized and the 24 times in two years people died. Once a month a family got a call that no family wants to get; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, With this hearing, we hope to hear from victims, identify areas of greatest concern, and hear ideas and plans for how Philadelphia might address these issues and how other cities have dealt with similar problems.

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