Alabama's New Safe Streets Act Took Effect October 1. Here's What It Means If You're Charged After a Wreck.

On October 1, a new Alabama law went into effect that changes how the state handles two kinds of wrecks: the ones where an impaired driver kills somebody, and the ones where a driver leaves the scene.

It's called the Devinee Rooney and John Wesley Holt Safe Streets Act. It passed the Legislature as Senate Bill 169 and became Act 2026-64 when Governor Ivey signed it in March.

I've been trying cases in Alabama courtrooms since the late 1970s. Laws like this one don't come along every year, and they matter a great deal to the people on both sides of the courtroom. So I want to walk through what changed, in plain terms.

Who the law is named for

Devinee Rooney was 18. She was killed by an impaired driver in May 2020, just days before she was supposed to graduate from Theodore High School in Mobile County.

John Wesley Holt was a 19-year-old student at the University of South Alabama. He was killed in a hit-and-run on Old Shell Road in February 2023.

Their families, along with the Mobile County District Attorney's office, pushed for this change. Whatever side of a case you're on, it's worth remembering that every one of these laws starts with a family that lost somebody.

What was wrong with the old law

Here's the gap the Legislature was trying to close.

Under the old setup, a drunk or drugged driver who seriously injured someone could face a charge carrying up to 20 years. But if that same driver killed someone, the case was often charged as criminally negligent homicide, a Class C felony with a top end of 10 years.

That's backwards, and most people who heard about it agreed. Killing someone shouldn't carry less exposure than hurting them.

What changed on October 1

DUI that causes a death is now manslaughter by statute. The manslaughter law, Section 13A-6-3 of the Alabama Code, now specifically covers someone who drives or operates a motor vehicle or a boat under the influence and causes another person's death. Manslaughter is a Class B felony. In Alabama, that means 2 to 20 years.

Criminally negligent homicide by an impaired driver is still a Class C felony. That provision was updated too, and it now expressly covers boats as well as vehicles. Prosecutors still have the option of bringing a murder charge if the facts support it. The new law doesn't take that off the table.

Leaving the scene got tougher when someone is hurt. Alabama law already required you to stop, give your information, and help anyone injured. The penalties for not doing that now break down like this:

• Property damage only: Class A misdemeanor, same as before.
• Physical injury: Class C felony.
• Serious physical injury or death: Class B felony.

Victims of hit-and-runs can now get restitution. This one gets less attention, but it's important. Before, a person convicted of leaving the scene often couldn't be ordered to pay the victim's medical bills or property damage, because the crime was leaving, not the wreck itself. The new law says anyone who suffers a loss connected to a leaving-the-scene conviction counts as a victim for restitution purposes.

The law only applies to conduct on or after October 1, 2026. If your wreck happened before that, the old law generally controls. That's one of the first things a lawyer should check.

If you've been charged after a wreck

I'll be direct. If you were arrested after a crash involving alcohol or drugs, or you've been told police want to talk to you about leaving a scene, the stakes just went up. Charges that used to top out lower can now carry up to 20 years.

That doesn't mean the State's case is airtight. It means you need to take it seriously from the first day.

A few things I tell people:

Don't explain yourself to the officer or the investigator. You can be polite. You can give your name. But you don't have to tell your side of it before you've talked to a lawyer, and you shouldn't. Most of what hurts people in these cases is what they said in the first 48 hours.

The details are where these cases are won or lost. Was the blood test handled right? Was the breath machine maintained and the operator certified? Who really caused the wreck? Did the person who left actually know someone was hurt? Under the new law, the difference between "physical injury" and "serious physical injury" can be the difference between a Class C and a Class B felony. Those are fact questions, and facts can be tested.

Evidence disappears. Dash cam and business surveillance video gets recorded over. Vehicles get repaired or crushed. Witnesses move. The sooner someone starts gathering and preserving it, the better.

Where you're charged matters. A case in Shelby County Circuit Court in Columbiana runs differently than one in Jefferson County or in a municipal court in Pelham, Alabaster, or Hoover. Knowing the local judges, prosecutors, and procedures is part of the job.

We handle DUI, leaving-the-scene, and vehicular homicide cases, along with the traffic charges that often come with them. We'll tell you honestly what we see, good and bad.

If you or your family were the ones hurt

The restitution change helps victims, but it's not the whole answer. A criminal restitution order depends on a conviction, and it depends on the defendant being able to pay. Many can't.

That's why people hurt in these wrecks usually need to look at insurance too, including their own uninsured motorist coverage, and sometimes a civil lawsuit. The criminal case and the civil claim run on separate tracks with separate deadlines. In most Alabama injury cases, you have two years to file suit, and waiting on the criminal case to wrap up can eat up that time.

We handle personal injury and insurance claims as well, so we can look at both sides of it with you.

Call us

If you've been charged, or you've been hurt by an impaired or fleeing driver, call John Medaris Law at (205) 663-1584. We're at 230 Bearden Road in Pelham. The first consultation is free, and we'll give you a straight answer about where you stand.