Associated Press - May 13, 2009 11:25 AM ET

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Motorists involved in hit & run collisions in Utah that result in serious bodily injury or death can now be charged with a felony if they previously had a drunken-driving conviction.

The new law is due in part to the work of Jack Blount, whose 18-year-old daughter, Connie Blount, was killed in Kentucky a year ago in a hit & run accident. Connie Blount, of Park City, was in her freshman year at the University of Kentucky.

In the wake of her death, her family learned that Utah treated hit & runs as misdemeanor offenses.

In response, Jack Blount sought to change Utah law. He says he would have liked for all hit & runs involving serious injury to be charged as felonies, but he calls the new law a good start.

Information from: Deseret News, http://www.deseretnews.com

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