A bill to strengthen Iowa’s hit-and-run penalties, sponsored by an Ames lawmaker, was assigned to a House Public Safety subcommittee Tuesday.

Rep. Lisa Heddens, D-Ames, who introduced the bill last Thursday, will lead the three-member subcommittee that will meet by early next week to determine if the bill should move on to a vote in front of the full House Public Safety Committee.

Heddens said she wanted to explore strengthening hit-and-run penalties even before a Dec. 3 hit-and-run on Mortensen Road claimed the life of 20-year-old ISU student Kelly Laughery.

“That incident made the issue even more urgent,” she said.

Under current Iowa law, a driver fleeing the scene of a fatal car accident faces only an aggravated misdemeanor charge, punishable by up to two years in jail and a fine of $1,500 to $5,000.

Heddens said the bill would make fleeing the scene of a fatal accident a Class D Felony, punishable by a maximum prison term of up to 5 years and a fine of $750 to $7,500.

Rep. Beth Wessel-Kroeschell, D-Ames, said she thinks the bill would receive support from residents.

“Certainly, every time you have a tragic accident like the one that occurred in Ames, that brings about a lot of public support,” Wessel-Kroeschell said.

She said she won’t know how she will vote until she has a chance to read the bill.

Stricter sentences for hit-and-run drivers, she said, could add further strain to an already over-taxed correctional system.

Iowa prisons are 22 percent overcrowded, according the Legislative Services Agency.

Heddens acknowledged that stricter consequences could mean more-crowded prisons, but said improved public safety would outweigh added strain on the prisons.

“Anytime you’re looking at increasing penalties there’s a potential to strain the correctional system,” she said. “But you also have to weigh-in some personal responsibility, you have to add an incentive to stay at the scene.”

On Dec. 15, the ISU Police Department identified the driver that struck Laughery as Shanda Munn, junior in pre-journalism and mass communication. No charges have been filed.

ISU Police Capt. Gene Deisinger said ISU Police have conducted in excess of 75 interviews concerning the incident.