Gov. David Ige signed into law Sunday a bill that authorizes state judges to double the prison terms of people convicted of first-degree negligent homicide when the offender also flees the scene of the accident.

The maximum penalty for first-degree negligent homicide is 10 years in prison.

Ige signed SB 2582, also known as “Kaulana’s Bill,” in a ceremony in Nanakuli, the district where Kaulana Werner, a 19-year-old former Kamehameha Schools football player, was struck and killed by a car as he was walking on the side of Farrington Highway near his home in 2016. The bill becomes Act 40.

Werner’s family championed the bill through the state Legislature and attended Sunday’s ceremony.

“It is my wish that this new law will not only hold offenders more accountable and potentially save lives, but also bring some small measure of comfort and closure for the Werners and other families whose lives have been touched by tragedies like this,” Ige said.

Myisha Lee Armitage is charged with first-degree negligent homicide for causing Werner’s death by operating a vehicle while intoxicated. She is also charged with failing to remain at or return to the scene of the accident to render aid, which also carries a maximum 10-year prison term. However, even if she is found guilty of both, under state sentencing laws the maximum penalty she faces is 10 years in prison.

Only those people charged July 1 or later, the effective date of the new law, face possible 20-year prison terms for first-degree negligent homicide and failing to render aid.

Armitage’s trial is scheduled for July 30. She is asking the court to exclude statements and evidence of her intoxication. A hearing is scheduled for July 16.