End the Incentive for Hit-and-Runs in New York: Pass the Yogi Law

The Heart of the Tragedy

On July 4, 2025, Jeffrey “Yogi” Maxson—a vibrant 59-year-old husband, father, and beloved member of his community in Sherburne, New York—was walking along State Highway 80 when he was struck by a vehicle. Left alone on the side of the road in the darkness, fighting for his life, he was not discovered until the following day. He died from his injuries.

The driver allegedly did far more than flee the scene. Authorities accuse the driver of actively concealing evidence while Yogi lay helpless nearby. This was not merely an accident—it was a deliberate choice to protect a clean record at the expense of a human life.

The Fatal Ripple Effect

The devastation of hit-and-runs never stops with the victim. Just 24 hours after learning of her son’s death and abandonment, Yogi’s mother, Evelyn, passed away. Her heart literally broke under the unbearable grief. In less than 48 hours, one family lost both a son and a mother to a preventable tragedy.

For those left behind, the fight for justice has been exhausting. The emotional toll is immeasurable, and the legal system has too often felt like an obstacle rather than a source of accountability and healing.

A Perverse Legal Incentive

This heartbreaking case highlights a dangerous statewide problem. New York’s hit-and-run crisis persists even as overall traffic fatalities have fluctuated in recent years. Nationally, about 1 in 4 pedestrian deaths involves a hit-and-run, and New York has long grappled with similar challenges on its roads.

Current New York law creates a shocking incentive to flee. If a driver stays at the scene and is found to be impaired by alcohol or drugs, they can face Vehicular Manslaughter in the First Degree—a Class C felony carrying up to 15 years in prison. By leaving the scene, however, the driver gains time for substances to metabolize, often resulting in far lesser charges and penalties (suc

h as a Class D felony for leaving the scene in a fatality, with a maximum of up to 7 years).

This “loophole of cowardice” sends the wrong message: it can be legally “safer” to abandon a dying person than to stay, render aid, and face the consequences. No law should reward abandonment over accountability.

Our Demand: Pass the “Yogi Law”

We demand immediate action from Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature to

enact the “Yogi Law.”

This legislation must close the loophole by ensuring that penalties for leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death or serious injury are equal to—or greater than—those for vehicular manslaughter while impaired. Drivers must face the full weight of justice for choosing to flee rather than help.

We must stop incentivizing callousness. Human life must outweigh any legal technicality. No other family should endure the compounded grief of losing a loved one—only to see the responsible driver benefit from walking away.

A human life is worth more than a legal loophole.

Please sign and share this petition today to urge Governor Hochul and the NY State Legislature to pass the Yogi Law and reform our hit-and-run statutes. Together, we can make New York’s roads safer and ensure that fleeing the scene is never the easier path.

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