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Hit-run sentence fuels legislation

Two Tampa brothers are dead, yet Jennifer Porter is free. Frustrated local lawmakers are pushing for mandatory jail time.

By BRADY DENNIS and ERNEST HOOPER
Published January 27, 2006

TAMPA - If Victor Crist gets his wish, the Jennifer Porters of the future will spend time behind bars.

The Republican state senator said Thursday that he will introduce legislation requiring mandatory prison time for hit-and-run drivers who cause injury or death.

The bill will include a provision that gives offenders 24 hours to turn themselves in.

"Hopefully this will help deter people from leaving the scene of an accident," said Crist, chairman of the Senate Justice Appropriations Committee. "We have to bring to light that this is a problem around the state. It's totally unacceptable for someone to drive away from an accident and not turn themselves in, especially when it involves injury and death."

The impetus for Crist's bill is the much-publicized March 2004 hit-and-run accident in Tampa that left two children dead. Jennifer Porter, then 28 and a dance teacher at Muller Elementary School, was headed home about dusk when her Toyota Echo hit four siblings crossing N 22nd Street.

The impact killed 13-year-old Bryant Wilkins and his brother, Durontae Caldwell, 3. The boys' siblings - Aquina Wilkins, then 8, and LaJuan Davis, then 2 - were seriously injured. Porter fled, waiting 28 hours to contact a lawyer and another four days before stepping forward in public.

Porter later pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of the crash. On Nov. 5, she was sentenced to two years of community control, three years of probation and 500 hours of community service.

Crist plans to call his bill the "Wilkins-Caldwell Act."

That name pleased Lisa Wilkins, mother of Bryant and Durontae, who first heard about it Thursday from a reporter.

"Of course I support it. I wish it would have come along a long time ago," Wilkins said. "I can't do nothing for my kids, but as long as I can help other families, I'm cool with it. Justice needs to prevail. You do wrong, you're supposed to do the time."

Not everyone saw such virtue in the bill.

Tampa lawyer Barry Cohen, who represented Porter, called Crist's announcement "purely and transparently an act of political opportunism."

"He ought to be ashamed of himself for trying to use this tragedy to seek political capital," Cohen said. "Why doesn't he make it 2 years minimum mandatory for every parent that lets their little baby go across the street? That's just as ridiculous."

Cohen said state law, which allows up to 15 years imprisonment for leaving the scene of an accident, is plenty tough. He argued that Crist's bill would bypass the discretion judges have in weighing circumstances of individual cases and imposing appropriate sentences.

"To take away that discretion from our courts would ... result in miscarriages of justice in the future which are not anticipated at this point, " Cohen said. "If they pass this, you'll see what I mean. It's a reaction without meaningful analysis or thought."

Although the March 2004 crash actually took place in state Sen. Les Miller's district, part of the southern boundary of Crist's district is Bearss Avenue, which lies just north of the accident scene. Crist played an integral role in the construction of the University Area Community Center, where Wilkins' children had been playing the night of the accident, and he has been the University Area's leading political advocate.

Miller, a Democrat and the Senate minority leader, said Thursday that he also will file a bill related to hit-and-run accidents. He said he and his staff are crafting the details.

"I didn't know about Victor's bill, but I would say we're going a little deeper," Miller said.

Like Crist, Miller said he is motivated by the outcome of the Porter case.

"Something is not right here because two kids are gone, never to enjoy life again, and a mother is hurting and a community is hurting," Miller said. "I can't bring those kids back and I can't help a grieving mother. But I can try to keep this from happening again."

Rep. Arthenia Joyner, D-Tampa, will sponsor a version of Crist's bill in the state House.

"Obviously, the deaths of the Wilkins and Caldwell kids were a motivating factor, but it's bigger than that. It happens all over Florida," Joyner said.

The 2006 Legislature convenes March 7.

[Last modified January 27, 2006, 01:22:12]