We don’t believe that anyone ever intends to have a hit and
run accident. Most of us think of ourselves as upstanding citizens who will
take responsibility for ourselves and our actions. But unfortunately, sometimes
things happen that change things.
If you are ever driving and think you have hit something in
the road, you must get out and see whom or what you hit. You cannot simply
drive away. If you hit a person, for whatever reason, you must remain at the
scene and give aid. Call the police immediately. If you hit an animal, you must
also remain on the scene until you can get help or manage the situation by
yourself. If you are simply a witness to an accident, you must also remain on
the scene and give all of your information to the police. Witnesses who do not
do so are subject to being ticketed.
If you hit a car with no one in it, you must try to find out
who is responsible for that car, or leave all of your contact information in
plain view on the car, perhaps on the windshield.
None if this is simply a matter of our “better angels” or
conscience. Aside from the moral obligations, there are far-reaching legal
ramifications. You may be dealing with a criminal offense. If you leave the
scene and there were injuries, this may qualify as a Class C felony. Class C
felonies are punishable by up to 5 years in prison and fines reaching $125,000.
If there was only property damage as a result of the accident, you may be found
guilty of a Class A misdemeanor. These
are punishable by up to 1 year in jail and fines reaching $6,250. In any
case you may lose your driver’s license in addition to going to jail.
If you find yourself in a situation like this, you are no
doubt scared and possibly terrified. None of this will get any better until you
own up to and seek to resolve your actions. There is a possibility that you may
not even know or remember what happened, except that you hit something and
drove away. This is when you call us.
Please give us a call at 503.655.7555. We offer a range of
legal specialties and many years of experience. We will be with you in court,
and before and after. We will do the best that we can to mitigate your legal
difficulties.
Drive responsibly. Don’t text, drive the speed limit, keep
both hands on the wheel. Pay attention. Researchers from Oregon State
University have studied driving distraction and Dr. David Hurwitz wrote, “Based
on recent studies, anything that takes your attention away, any glance away
from the road for two seconds or longer can increase the risk of an accident
from four to 24 times.” That’s just TWO seconds. Regarding texting, one more
time, according to OSU, a previous study found that texting was equivalent to
being drunk. Please wait until you pull over or stop the car.
We want to help. Call us at 503.655.7555. Don’t handle this
alone.
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