LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A Crestwood, Kentucky, family is advocating for the crime prevention bill called Safer Kentucky Act, specifically the provision to increase penalties for those evading police.
The portion of the extensive, multi-part bill is penned 'Jake's law,' named after the 10-year-old boy who died in a tragic car crash in Sept. 2023.
Jake Luxemburger, in the car with his grandmother driving in Crestwood, was hit by a driver speeding off an I-71 exit ramp. The driver, police say, was in a stolen car and leading troopers on a chase after an attempt to pull him over miles away.
It's an accident Jake's mom, Kathryn Luxemburger, believes could have been preventable.
"My baby boy is never coming back," she said at a House committee hearing on Jan. 18. "One person's choice of fleeing from the police has destroyed our lives."
A part of the Safer Kentucky Act, formally filed as House Bill 5, would stiffen consequences for those convicted of fleeing law enforcement. For example, if the bill were to pass, a first degree charge of evading officers would be a Class C felony, and it would prohibit the defendant from being released on probation or parole until he or she has served at least half of the sentence imposed.
"Anything that can be done to prevent another funeral of a child, should be [done]," Luxemburger said.
Court documents show that prior to Jake's case, a judge previously put the suspect on a diversion program in 2022, after being charged with receiving stolen property and running from law enforcement back in late 2021.
State Representative Jared Bauman of Louisville, a Republican, is the bill's primary sponsor.
"We want to ensure that we push back against this behavior," he told WHAS11.
As a whole, the Safer Kentucky Act covers a lot -- from criminalizing street camping to regulating charitable bail. And at large, it focuses on increasing consequences for violent crime offenders committing felonies, and ensuring they stay in jail.
But there are concerns from opponents that stiffening penalties don't remedy the root problem, falling short of a proactive solution.
"No time in the state of Kentucky or in our nation have we been able to incarcerate ourselves out of any issue, ever," State Rep. Keturah Herron (D-Jefferson County) said in that same hearing on Jan. 18.
An amended version of House Bill 5 will soon face a vote by the full Kentucky House, as early as Tuesday. If it passes, it'll head to a Senate committee.
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