What are the penalties for leaving the scene of an accident involving injury or death? | Ask a car accident attorney.

What are the penalties for leaving the scene of an accident involving injury or death?

You are enjoying your newly bought car on one cool evening, when suddenly whack! you knocked down a pedestrian or a motorcyclist. On close observations, the victim is injured or dies. 

Due to an adrenalin rush or out of fear or due to any other reasons, you choose to flee the scene of an accident. what are the possible penalties for leaving the scene of an accident involving deaths or injuries?

What type of a hit-and-run crime will police charge you with? Well, in case you need some data, it’s estimated that out of the more than 7 million auto accidents experienced by the USA, at least more than 700,000 are hit and run cases.

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In this article, I will explore possible penalties of hit and run and also help you understand what to do in case you committed a hit and run involving deaths or injuries.

Definition and types of hit-and-run accidents.

A hit and run is a crime you will have committed if you left the scene of an accident without doing the following legal obligations:

• You left the scene without sharing your contact information
• You did not share your insurance information like your car insurance company and or your policy number
• You did not render help to someone who is injured or died
• You did not report the crash to the authorities/police.

Types Of Hit and Run Accidents

Hit and run accidents can take many forms, including:

1. Pedestrian hit-and-run accidents. This occurs when a driver or motorcyclist hits a pedestrian and flees the scene of an accident.

2. Motorcyclist hit and run accidents. In these crashes, the driver hits a motorcyclist but leaves the scene of an accident without rendering help or sharing contact information.

3. Bicyclist hit and run accidents. San Fransisco, Minneapolis, Philadephia, and Washington are the top 4 cycling cities in the USA.

A bicyclist hit and run occurs when a driver or motorcyclist knocks down a bicyclist and leaves the scene of an accident without offering help or sharing his contact information.

4. Car hit and run accidents: All drivers are required by law to stop at the scene of an accident. Car hit and run accidents occur when 2 cars collide and one of the drivers flees the scene of an accident.

5. Parking lot hit and run accidents. These hit and runs occur when a driver hits a parked car and he/she does not leave a note bearing his contact information or his/her insurance information.

6. Property damage hit and run accidents. These occur when a driver collides with a building, fence, animal, mailbox, etc and he/she leaves the scene without notifying the owners or authorities.

Types of hit and run crimes

There are basically 2 types of charges a driver that left the scene of an accident faces. These include:

1. Felony hit and run. This is the criminal proceedings that will be faced by someone who left the scene of an accident involving injuries and or deaths.

Recommended reading: Is fleeing the scene of an accident a felony? | hit and run felony

The penalties for a hit and run involving deaths or injuries are more severe and heavy, compared to when the accident did not result in injuries or deaths. 

2. Misdemeanor hit and run. These are criminal charges faced by an individual who left the scene of an accident that involved no injuries or deaths.

For example. The driver who left the scene of an accident involving only property damages or minor injuries usually will face a misdemeanor hit and run charge.

Legal consequences of leaving the scene of an accident

“If you are asked 50 police officers across 50 different states, there is a likelihood of getting 50 different answers and surprisingly all the answers will be right”, says John Morgan a personal injury lawyer at Morgan and Morgan.

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The following are the legal consequences of leaving the scene of an accident:

1. Fines. Depending on the severity of the accident and laws in your area of jurisdiction, one of the penalties is paying monetary fines.

“Though the amount payable as fines varies across the 50 states in the USA, expect to pay somewhere between $50-$20,000 if you are convicted of a hit-and-run crime“, says John Morgan

2. Jail time/prison time. Yes, you can go to jail or prison due to a hit and run crime (leaving the scene of an accident charge).

“The duration of jail time/prison time varies from state to state and also differs depending on the severity of the accident. A hit-and-run criminal should expect somewhere between a couple of days to 15 years in prison or jail”, says Daniel J. Morgan, a car accident attorney. 

“I have heard and seen cases where drivers get imprisoned for life just because of a felony hit and run he/she committed”, concludes Daniel J. Morgan.

3. License suspension/ revocation. Many cases of hit and run charges could end up getting your driver’s license suspended for up to 24 months.

In the worst-case scenario, your state’s DMV may decide to withdraw your license for good just because you illegally fled the scene of an accident, especially if there were deaths or injuries.

In short, Penalties for leaving an accident with injury or death include fines, license suspension, imprisonment, criminal charges, and civil liability. It’s crucial to remain at the scene and provide help.

Factors that can aggravate the penalties of a hit and run

The penalty for leaving the scene of an accident involving injuries or deaths is a felony hit and run charge and the punishments include heft fines, lengthy prison time, a traffic ticket, and other civil claims.

The severity of penalties of course depends on the following factors. 

1. Your area of jurisdiction. Different states impose different punishments on hit and run offenders. This implies that charges too differ from one state to another.

2. Severity of the accident. You will receive heavy punishments if you left the scene of an accident involving injuries or deaths, compared to a minor hit and run (misdemeanor).

3. Past criminal history. First-time hit-and-run offenders usually receive simple penalties/ punishments. Subsequent crimes will most likely earn you lengthy prison time and heavy fines.

4. Driving under the influence. One of the main reasons drivers choose to flee the scene of an accident is driving under the influence (a DUI). In fact, hit-and-run DUI constitutes the majority of the reported hit and run crimes.

You should definitely expect heavy hit and run punishments if, under the influence of drugs, you left the scene of an accident involving deaths or injuries.

5. Fleeing a police officer. Think twice before forcing a police officer to chase after you following a hit and run crime. This is one of the reasons police officers show no mercy while charging you.

Defenses against hit-and-run charges

Now that you left the scene of an accident involving injuries or deaths. What’s your next point of action? Do you need to hire a hit and run attorney or do you want to handle the case on your own?

To successfully beat leaving the scene of an accident charge, you or your attorney will need to prove beyond doubt the following:

1. The accident occurred. You will need to prove to the jury that the crash actually occurred. Pictures, videos, and witness statements should help you.

2. The driver was driving the car. This is the hardest part to prove before the jury or judge. Providing this evidence halves the effort you need to win the case. 

3. The driver knew the accident occurred. A driver that successfully proves before the jury that he/she didn’t know the accident occurred will almost be let off the hook.

4. Injuries/losses. You must provide evidence that you the victim suffered bodily injuries/ damages. 

Pictures of the damaged car, medical records, and other pieces of evidence will help you prove this before the judge/jury.

“In short, Evidence used to convict a hit and run driver includes eyewitness testimony, surveillance footage, physical evidence, DNA evidence, social media, and cell phone records”, said Abby Lewis, a car accident attorney.

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Having that said, the following are potential defenses that a defendant may use against hit-and-run charges:

1. You were not the driver. Many people drive borrowed cars and others drive stolen cars. Charges of hit and run will be dropped if prove beyond doubt that you were not the driver of the hit and run car.

2. Not aware of the accident. A single accident occurs daily. A driver while trying to avoid colliding with another car might swerve and hit an object. 

In such a scenario, the other driver may not know that he/she was the reason the driver swerved and had an accident. Other examples include the collision of big vehicles with small cars.

The penalties for hit and run will be lessened if the accused driver proves beyond doubt that he/she was not aware of the accident/ crash. 

3. You had genuine reasons for leaving the scene of an accident. Maybe you had a laboring woman, or you were attending to other emergencies.

4. Mistaken Identity. Well, some people look alike. For instance, some people find it hard to differentiate between Chinese or other people of Asian descent.

You will have all the hit-and-run charges dropped if you or your attorney prove beyond doubt that the person mentioned in the case is a different one.

Conclusion.

As any other human being, every one of us is compelled to leave the scene of an accident because of many reasons I already mentions.

According to Albert J. Ferrera, a car accident attorney, “People leave the scene of an accident due to fear, intoxication, lack of insurance, warrants, no knowledge of the accident, and emotional distress.“

For whatever reasons you may have, I highly recommend you stay at the scene of the accident till authorities discharge you. It doesn’t matter if the accident involved injuries/deaths or not.

Source.

1. Hit and run accident definition, penalties & laws. website: https://www.daveabels.com/is-it-really-a-hit-and-run-lets-look-at-the-law/

2. Hit and run charges, Website: https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/hit-run-charges.html

3. Leaving the scene of an accident: website: https://www.hg.org/legal-articles/leaving-the-scene-of-an-accident-34319