Mayra Elías Alert: what is needed when someone hits and runs

It is the third of Puerto Rico’s public alerts, alongside AMBER and SILVER, and the only one aimed at a fleeing driver. Its practical value lies in one detail of the text: a partial plate number is enough to activate it, so what you only half-remember still helps.

The alert covers a hit and run accident, which the law defines as one involving a motor vehicle where the driver leaves the scene in violation of Articles 4.01 and 5.07 of Act 22-2000, in particular where someone driving recklessly or negligently and heedlessly, in disregard of safety, causes another a bodily injury requiring hospitalization, prolonged treatment, or generating permanent damage or mutilating injuries, and flees.

• That the Police of Puerto Rico corroborate a vehicular accident involving violations of Articles 4.01 and 5.07 of Act 22-2000.Verified against the official source
• That there be data on the vehicle that caused the accident and left the scene: colour, make, model, vehicle type, plate number even if partial, among other features.Verified against the official source
• That there be enough available and helpful information for the alert to be useful.Verified against the official source

Information pending verification.

1. 1

   Step 1: A partial plate is already enough

   The law’s most useful detail, and worth saying first, because many people stay quiet about what they only half-saw. The second criterion requires “the existence of data about the vehicle that caused the accident and left the scene, such as colour, make, model, vehicle type, plate number, even if partial, among other features.” The law writes “even if partial” on purpose.

2. 2

   Step 2: The three criteria

   All three must concur before the alert issues: that the Police corroborate the accident with violations of Articles 4.01 and 5.07 of Act 22-2000; that the vehicle data exist; and that there be enough available and helpful information for the alert to be useful. Note the first is an act of the Police and the other two depend largely on what witnesses provide.

3. 3

   Step 3: Why the first hours

   The law declares it as a public policy principle, and it explains the alert’s design: “the first hours after the accident are critical to law enforcement securing the driver’s arrest.” That is why the content article orders that alerts “must be broadcast as soon as possible and repeated frequently,” without setting an hour count as other alerts do.

4. 4

   Step 4: What the alert says and carries

   After a distinctive sound, the alert must read or sound: “This is a Mayra Elías Alert for a Hit & Run Type Accident.” And it must contain the location of the accident where serious bodily harm was caused to a person or where a person died, and the data on the vehicle that caused the accident and left the scene. Alerts are repeated following Emergency Alert System and Federal Communications Commission guidelines.

5. 5

   Step 5: What counts as hit and run under this Act

   The definition is more specific than the name suggests. It is the accident involving a motor vehicle where the driver leaves the scene in violation of Act 22-2000, “in particular where any person driving a vehicle recklessly or negligently and heedlessly, in disregard of safety, causes another a bodily injury requiring hospitalization, prolonged treatment, or generating permanent damage or mutilating injuries, and flees.”

6. 6

   Step 6: Media participate voluntarily

   As with the other alerts: “The Police of Puerto Rico shall notify Puerto Rico’s media and broadcasters of the activation of the ‘Mayra Elías Plan’ and invite them to participate voluntarily,” and it is the participating media and entities that “shall voluntarily agree to broadcast the alerts.” The law defines a broadcaster as any natural or juridical person authorised by the FCC to operate a media outlet, radio or television station in Puerto Rico.

The Police of Puerto Rico corroborate the accident and issue the notice to broadcasters; that is where you report and where you provide the vehicle data. If what you need is an ordinary complaint or a copy of the police report, those have their own guides. And if the missing person is a kidnapped minor or an adult with Alzheimer’s or dementia, those are the AMBER Alert and the SILVER Alert, each with its own criteria and deadlines.

• Staying quiet because you only saw part of the plate: the law expressly says “even if partial.”
• Expecting a fixed deadline as in AMBER or SILVER: this Act says “as soon as possible.”
• Assuming the alert issues by itself: the Police must corroborate the accident first.
• Not providing colour, make, model and vehicle type: they are part of the criterion that activates the alert.
• Believing every outlet will broadcast: broadcaster participation is voluntary.
• Looking in this law for the fleeing driver’s penalty: that is in Act 22-2000, which we do not cover here.

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

• Policía de Puerto Rico

  Policía de PR

  bvirtualogp.pr.gov