Hit-and-run deaths up this year

In Philadelphia, there's a death count that never makes it to the city's homicide tally.

The circumstances are varied and the deaths may not be premeditated, but in each case, those wielding the deadly weapons do the unconscionable - they run.

Although the city's homicide count is down dramatically this year, the eight hit-and-run deaths so far in 2008 already equal the number for all of last year, according to statistics from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and the Police Department's Accident Investigation Division.

For the family members of those killed, like Theresa Sautter, whose 15-year-old daughter, Marylee Otto, was run down in March, the sentencing guidelines for hit-and-run drivers when - and if - they are caught offer little solace.

According to Raymond Bily, a partner in the Philadelphia-based law firm Reiff & Bily, a person who does not have a criminal record and is charged with a hit-and-run involving death or serious bodily injury faces a mandatory minimum of just one year in prison.

The mandatory minimum sentence jumps to three years if drugs or alcohol were involved, Bily said, but if a driver isn't found until days after the crash, substance-abuse testing becomes more difficult.

Sautter, whose daughter was allegedly hit by Michelle Johnson, 40, a registered nurse who was tracked down when she left her damaged vehicle at her place of employment - the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility - says the sentencing guidelines are unacceptable.

"I mean, what's a year when you take the life of a child?" she said. "She can have her life back but our lives are totally destroyed."

At noon tomorrow, Sautter will hold a rally at Rhawn Street and Lexington Avenue to draw awareness to the crime and to the state's current laws. The intersection is where her daughter was run down on March 28.

"The governor is worried about 80 dogs being shot by their owner," she said. "And I'm wondering how many people, how many children, is it going to take before these laws get stricter for hit-and-run drivers?"

Bily, a personal-injury attorney, said people leave the scene of an accident for several reasons, including that they may be driving a stolen vehicle, that they may be intoxicated or they may be driving without a license or insurance.

To add insult to injury for grieving relatives, Bily said that families often have no avenue for financial recourse aside from seeking state benefits.

Even if an offending driver does have insurance, there is typically contract language that requires a driver to cooperate with the investigation if benefits are to be paid, Bily said.

Sometimes, victims will have coverage under their own insurance plans to protect against uninsured motorists, but that's not often the case in Philadelphia, Bily said.

"The problem is, many pedestrians do not own vehicles so they don't have their own coverage," he said.

With Philadelphia marking one-third of the state's hit-and-run fatalities last year, and with this year's hit-and-run deaths already on par with last year's total, Sautter prays that drivers start taking responsibility for their actions and their vehicles, which can all too quickly turn into weapons.

"The best option is always to wait for police and turn yourself in," Sautter said. "It's not worth torturing somebody's family and friends who never did anything to you."

Among the city's other hit-and-run deaths this year:

* Terrell Elliott, 5, was allegedly struck by cab driver Yves Aristilde on Sunday as he tried to cross at Windrim Avenue near Lindley in Logan with his mother, Dana Reynolds, 23, who was critically injured in the crash.

* Hannah Cintron, 20, was allegedly struck by Edward Dunphy, 28, as she left the Roxxy/Bamboo Bar on North Delaware Avenue near Poplar Street on June 7.

* Theodore Thomas Jr., 22, was unconscious for 13 days before he died from injuries he suffered when he was run down while crossing Market Street at Ninth on Feb. 22. The offending driver has yet to be found. *