Under California law, any driver who is involved in a vehicle collision must immediately stop and provide his or her contact information to the owner of any damaged property. If the owner cannot be found, the driver must leave a note in an obvious place and immediately notify the local police or CHP.
Leaving the scene of a traffic accident without exchanging contact information is a crime in California, commonly known as "Hit & Run" (VC 20002). If the collision involves only property damage, Hit & Run is usually treated as a misdemeanor. If someone is injured or killed, it can be treated as a felony.
A lot of my clients are surprised to learn that they can be charged for Hit & Run even if they collide with a stationary object and no other cars are involved. Hitting a stop sign, a guard rail, or a tree, for example, can lead to a Hit & Run charge if public property is damaged the driver fails to immediately report the collision to police.
There are plenty of reasons that people leave collision scenes. Some of these reasons might even help form a defense to criminal charges. If the other driver threatened you and you were afraid for your safety, you might have had a valid reason to flee. If the collision occurred on the freeway, there might not have been a safe place to stop and speak to the other driver. If the collision was so minor that you didn't even realize you'd hit something, you might also have a good excuse for failing to stop. These are just a few common examples.
I understand that some drivers simply panic and flee because of adrenaline and emotions. This isn't a legal defense, but judges and prosecutors may show lenience when the offender is young, inexperienced, and sincerely remorseful. It also helps if the driver (or the driver's insurance carrier) is able to fully pay for any damage.
Keep in mind also that fault for the actual collision has nothing to do with Hit & Run charges. It does not matter who was responsible for causing the accident. Even if some reckless maniac hit you, you are still required to stop and exchange information.
Until recently, Hit & Run cases could be resolved through a process called a "Civil Compromise", or "Civ Comp". If the victim, the DA and the judge all agreed, the defendant could simply write a check to the victim for any damages and the victim could request that the criminal case be dismissed. The entire process was usually negotiated by the defendant's attorney. Courts ended the practice earlier this year, though. They explained that, when someone commits a Hit & Run, they're not in trouble for causing a collision -- they're in trouble for leaving the scene of the collision. The "victim" in a Hit & Run case isn't just the person you hit (or the person who hit you); the real victim is the administration of justice. Simply paying for the property damage doesn't make up for the actual wrongdoing. Unfortunately, this means that "Civil Compromise" agreements are no longer an option to resolve Hit & Run cases in California.
We still have other options to fight Hit & Run charges, though. Depending on a lot of circumstances, the defendant may be eligible for some form of "diversion" or "deferred entry of judgement". Under these deals, a defendant would be ordered to pay some fees, take some classes, perform community service, provide a DNA sample and / or do whatever else is agreed upon. Once he or she has completed those terms, the case may be dismissed entirely or reduced to a less-serious charge.
Of course, these options are assuming that the defendant is actually guilty of a crime -- and that the DA can prove it. Hit & Run cases can be notoriously difficult to prove, though. Even if prosecutors can prove which car was involved and they know the registered owner of that car, they can't always establish who was driving the car at the time of the collision. To be convicted of Hit & Run, the DA must prove that a specific defendant was behind the wheel. If someone else used your vehicle to commit a crime, you are not criminally responsible. And if police ask you questions about who was driving your vehicle at some specific time, you have no legal obligation to answer or to snitch on a family member. Police may threaten and intimidate you, but they cannot legally compel you to answer questions.
If you or a loved one has questions about fighting a Hit & Run case in Orange County, call us for a free attorney consultation. (714) 449-3335. Ask for John.
Thanks for reading.
Orange County Hit & Run Lawyer
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