Yellow Alert Goes Into Effect Statewide

(Pikesville, MD) As a result of legislation from the 2015 Maryland General Assembly, signed into law by Governor Larry Hogan, the Maryland State Police have established the Yellow Alert Program to assist law enforcement agencies statewide with the rapid sharing of information to locate those who fail to remain at the scene of a traffic crash resulting in serious injury or death.

Effective October 1, 2015, the Yellow Alert Program has been activated. This program is designed to assist law enforcement across Maryland with finding vehicles that leave the scene of crash where someone is gravely hurt or a fatality has occurred. State law requires all drivers remain at the scene of a motor vehicle crash resulting in property damage, bodily injury, or death.

Currently, agencies investigating hit and run crashes have the ability to disseminate a description of a vehicle to one central location and in turn, the information can be quickly shared with other officers as well as the public. This cooperative effort increases the possibility of locating the vehicle and providing justice to the victims.

The Yellow Alert notification will immediately be shared with the Maryland Joint Operations Center (MJOC), Maryland Coordination and Analysis Center (MCAC), State Highway Administration (SHA) Statewide Operation Center and local law enforcement in the state.