Repair shops in Pennsylvania might soon get a new role in the state’s hit-and-run investigations.

Lawmakers are considering a bill that would alert collision repair facilities when a car showing signs of hit-and-run damage comes through their doors.

The goal is to help police catch drivers who leave the scene.

The proposed legislation, HB 2635, would set up “Jay Alerts,” a system named after 8-year-old Jayanna Powell

Jayanna was killed in a hit-and-run in 2016. She was walking home from school. The driver fled and took the car to a shop in another county.

For a long time, I worked at shop that performed collision repairs. I admit that I never once thought that drivers who brought their cars in could have committed such a cold act. It makes me wonder if any customer ever did anything like it.

Shops that register for the alerts would receive vehicle descriptions

Clues could include the car’s make, model, year, color, license plate, and unique damage patterns.

According to Repairer Driven News, if a shop sees a vehicle matching an alert, they would be legally required to report it. Failure to do so could result in a third-degree misdemeanor for the business owner.

Rep. Morgan Cephas, who filed the bill, explained that alerts wouldn’t just go to repair shops. 

They’d also reach cellphones and local television screens. These moves would give both law enforcement and the public a chance to spot suspect vehicles sooner.

The system is designed to shrink the window of opportunity for hit-and-run drivers to hide or repair their cars before authorities can investigate.

Similar legislation has been tried in Florida

There, lawmakers introduced measures requiring repair shops to request crash reports from customers before fixing cars.

Those bills, named after hit-and-run victims, aimed to prevent drivers from masking accident damage and avoiding insurance claims.

Florida’s attempts faced opposition from the state’s auto body association, which argued the rules could push repair costs over $2,500 and complicate normal operations.

If HB 2635 passes, it would turn repair shops into a front line in hit-and-run enforcement. Shops would be expected to act quickly, sharing information with authorities to help track down at-fault drivers.