Top El Cajon Hit and Run Lawyer
California Hit and Run laws are divided into two general categories:
1) accidents resulting in bodily injury or death, and
2) accidents resulting only in property damage.
In either situation, the law requires people involved to take certain acts after the accident. Failure to take these steps results in being charged with the crime called Hit and Run. In this article, we explain the laws related to a Hit and Run resulting in injury or death.
What is a Hit and Run Resulting in Injury?
Pursuant to Vehicle Code § 20001(a), if you have been involved in an accident resulting in either: a) injury to someone other than yourself, or b) someone’s death, then you must immediately stop the vehicle at the scene of the accident and do the following:
- Give the following information to: a) any police officer at the scene of the accident, and b) the person struck or the driver or occupants of any vehicle collided with:
- Your name
- Your current residence address
- The names and current residence addresses of any occupant of your vehicle who was injured in the accident
- The registration number of the vehicle you were driving
- The name and current residence address of the owner of the vehicle
(See VC § 20003(a).)
- Provide reasonable assistance to anyone who was injured in the accident. This includes transporting, or making arrangements for transporting, anyone who needs or has requested medical treatment to a location where they can be treated.(See VC § 20003(a).)
- Present your driver license or other identification to anyone else involved in the accident and to any police officer at the scene of the accident.(See VC § 20003(b).)
- If not police officer was at the scene of the accident, after doing all of the above, report the accident “without delay” to the nearest law enforcement officer.(See VC § 20004.)
Per the California Criminal Jury Instructions:
The duty to stop “immediately” means the driver must stop his or her vehicle as soon as reasonably possible under the circumstances.
You must perform the above actions regardless of who caused the accident or who was injured. Even if the accident was not your fault and the only person injured was a passenger in your car, you still must follow the procedures explained above.
Being “involved in a vehicle accident” means to be connected with the accident in a natural or logical manner, even if your vehicle did not actually collide with anything.
The severity of the injury is irrelevant. You must follow the above procedures whether it is a serious injury or a minor injury involving only, for example, scrapes, headache or bruising.
The obligation to provide reasonable assistance does not mean you must provide unnecessary assistance or assistance that is already being provided by someone else.
Failure to take any one of the above actions is a crime under the Hit and Run laws.
Note that failure to give your insurance information to the other driver is not a violation of the Hit and Run laws here. Instead, it is a violation of VC § 16025, which is an infraction punishable by a $250 fine.
What sentence am I facing if convicted of a Hit and Run Resulting in Injury?
Vehicle Code § 20001 is a “wobbler” meaning it can be charged either as a felony or a misdemeanor. If charged as a misdemeanor, the maximum sentence you could receive would include up to one year of custody in the county jail and a fine of $1,000 to $10,000. If the charge is filed as a felony, the maximum sentence would be up to 3 years in state prison and a fine of $1,000 to $10,000.
If the accident results in death or “permanent, serious injury” you could receive up to 4 years in state prison on a felony or, if filed as a misdemeanor, a minimum of 90 days in county jail. However, the judge has the discretion to reduce or eliminate the minimum 90 days jail. (See VC § 20001(b)(2).) “Permanent, serious injury” means the loss or permanent impairment of function of a bodily member or organ. (See VC § 20001(d).)
How do I fight an allegation of Hit and Run Resulting in Injury?
In order to prove that you are guilty of this crime, prosecutors must first prove three things: 1) you were involved in a vehicle accident while driving, 2) the accident caused injury to someone else, and 3) you knew or should have known the accident caused an injury.
Were you involved in the accident?
The prosecutors must be able to identify you as someone who was driving a vehicle that was involved in the accident. This means that they will need evidence showing you were at the scene. They can do this by eliciting the testimony of witnesses, obtaining video surveillance, and the like. Part of your lawyer’s job may entail poking holes in this type of evidence.
Did the accident cause an injury?
You can imagine a scenario where an alleged “victim” who already had an existing injury and was in a car accident may feel like he won the lottery. If the “victim” claims the injury was caused by the accident, the “victim” will be able to bring a personal injury claim against an insurance company and receive a financial award for damages. Therefore, it is important that your lawyer ensure that: 1) there is a legitimate injury, and 2) the accident in reality caused the injury. If the accident caused on old injury to act up again or triggered an increase in pain, that may qualify as an injury under these laws.
Did you know, or should you have known, about the injury?
The prosecutors must also prove that you knew that, either:
- You had been involved in an accident that injured another person, OR
- You knew from the nature of the accident that it was probable that another person had been injured.
In the case of a relatively minor accident, the facts of the incident are extremely important. Did a witness or someone involved in the accident tell you that everyone was okay, and then later tell someone else that there was an injury? Was everyone walking around without any apparent difficulty or complaining of pain? Did anyone mention that they needed an ambulance?
You can see that the small details of a case can be extremely important in developing your defense strategy. It will take a lot of work to get your case dismissed. In order to help us win your case, you should start working on these 8 homework assignments right away.
Lounsbery Law Office, PC has successfully fought felony and misdemeanor Hit and Run charges for many clients. We would be happy to talk to you about how we can help you defend your case. To speak with an experienced El Cajon lawyer involving Hit and Run Resulting in Injury charges today, call 619-792-1451 or send us an email.