Attorney as either a felony or a misdemeanor pursuant to California Vehicle Code Sections 20001 and 20002.These sections impose a legal duty to stop at the scene of an accident where property is damages or where someone is injured. If the accident resulted in death or injury to anyone other than the driver who is being charged, then the hit and run can be filed as a misdemeanor or as a felony under §20001. However, since it isn’t required to be filed as a felony, a zealous criminal defense lawyer will often contact the DA early in order to influence the decision. If the hit and run involved property damage only and no injury, then it will be charged as a misdemeanor under §20002.
What Is The Crime Of Hit And Run?
California law requires the driver of a vehicle;
- involved in an accident;
- resulting in property damage or injury to someone other than the driver;
- to immediately stop; and
- provide certain specific information.
It Doesn’t Matter Who Is At Fault
A hit and run happens when any driver (regardless of who was at fault) involved in an accident fails to stop or give the required information. So, for example, if you are stopped at a stop sign and another driver rear-ends you, damaging your car, YOU must immediately stop and provide information even though you are not at fault. If you don’t, you can, and in Orange County probably will, be charged with hit and run.
“Involvement” In The Accident Invokes The Duty To Stop
It is important to consider that a driver need only be “involved” in an accident, which doesn’t mean that the driver was involved in the actual collision. So, for example, if you pull onto a busy intersection and cause traffic to suddenly stop, and that chain of events causes cars to crash into each other, then you were “involved” in the accident even though your car avoided being hit. Therefore, you have a duty to immediately stop and provide the required information. If you fail to do so, you will probably be prosecuted in the Superior Court for hit and run.
Any Property Damage Is Enough
The property damages can be any kind of property—real or even personal property. It is usually another car that is damaged but often it is a fence post, a tree, a mailbox, a sign post, etc. In any case where property not belonging to the driver is damaged as a result of the driver’s involvement, then the driver must stop and provide the required information.
Driver Must Stop Immediately
The requirement that a driver “immediately stop” is not always literal. In fact, the Vehicle Code explicitly provides for stopping when it is safe; that the driver shall immediately stop the vehicle at the nearest location that will not impede or disrupt traffic or otherwise jeopardize the safety of other motorists.
Presenting The Required Information
A. property damage only
The exact information that a driver is required to present depends on whether someone is injured in the accident. If there is only property damage only and no one was hurt other than the driver, then the driver must;
Present the other driver, or person in charge of the property, the driver’s name and residential address. If the driver doesn’t own the car, then the driver is required to furnish the name and residential address of the owner of the vehicle the driver is driving. If requested to do so, the driver must also provide their driver’s license and insurance information.
If the other driver is not around, as is often the case of a parked car, or where the property damaged is not another vehicle (such as a mail box or sign), and the owner or person in charge can’t be located, then the driver is required to:
Leave in a conspicuous place the name and address of the driver and/or owner and a brief statement of what happened; and
Call the police or the CHP and report the accident without “unnecessary delay”.
B. injury
If someone other than the driver is injured in the accident, the driver must tender their (and the owner’s if the driver is not the owner) name, residential address, registration number of the vehicle, and the names and residential addresses of all persons injured in the driver’s car to any person struck or to the driver of the other vehicle and to the police or CHP if they are there. Again, if asked to, the driver must also present their driver’s license and insurance information.
Defenses To The Charge Of Hit And Run
A good criminal defense lawyer will carefully examine every aspect of your case and consider every possible defense to the charge. The facts of each individual case determine which defenses are available and which are not. Defenses successfully used by Orange County criminal defense attorneys include:
A. Lack Of Knowledge
In order to convict a defendant of hit and run, the DA has to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant knew they were involved in an accident and that someone was injured or property had been damaged. If, under the particular circumstances of the case, it is reasonable that a driver didn’t know that they were in an accident or knew that any property had been damaged, then a qualified hit and run attorney can defend on the grounds that the knowledge element can’t be proved.
For example, Derrick was backing up his fully-loaded cement mixer when it the heavy vehicle struck the bumper of a small car, barely scratching it. Derrick never felt the impact and never even knew he had been involved in a collision.
B. Only The Driver’s Vehicle Is Damaged
When a driver is involved in an accident and only the driver’s car is actually damaged, then this does not invoke any duty to stop and present specific information. For example, if Darlene rear-ends another vehicle and damages her own car but not the other, then she cannot be convicted of hit and run because she was not required to stop and present information.
C. The Identity Of The Driver Is In Question
Quite often, the police track down a hit and run driver after a witness gives a description of the vehicle or provides the license number. But a vehicle description or license plate number can only identify the vehicle that was involved in an accident. That information doesn’t tell us who was actually driving the vehicle at the time of the accident. In order to actually convict a defendant of hit and run the prosecutor must prove beyond any reasonable doubt that the defendant was the one who was actually driving at the time of the accident.
The evidence of driving very often comes in the form of the driver’s own admission to the police, either before after being arrested. If the driver has not admitted to driving, this can be very difficult for the DA to prove. Furthermore, an admission may be suppressed if made in violation of the driver’s Miranda rights. A skilled hit and run lawyer will always look carefully at the facts around the admission and bring a Suppression Motion where justified.
Penalties For Hit And Run
A. Property Damage Only (Misdemeanor)
Jail, Probation And Fines
The crime of hit and run prosecuted under Vehicle Code §20002 (Duty Where Property Is Damaged) is punishable by up to six months in the County jail and a fine of up to $1,000.00. It is fairly common in hit and run cases for the driver to concurrently be prosecuted for DUI, which also carries possible or mandatory jail time. If you are sentenced to less than the six-months in jail, the court will put you on probation for three years. Usually this is “informal” probation meaning will have no probation officer or obligation to report. However if you commit another crime or violate any of the terms of your probation while on informal probation, a judge can sentence you to some or all of the remaining jail time.
Restitution
The court must also impose, as a condition of probation, that a hit and run defendant make restitution to the victim for any loss. Here, the law takes a bit of a strange twist, as even if the accident turns out to be the “victims’” fault, the court can still require the defendant pay for damages. This is done in most cases and the justification for such a seemingly inequitable penalty is that it acts as a deterrent and a punishment.
Effect On Driver’s License
A hit and run conviction triggers a two-point penalty toward your driver’s license.
Other Options
In misdemeanor cases not involving alcohol or drugs, an experienced hit and run lawyer will make every attempt to get the charge of hit and run dismissed. For example, in some cases a criminal defense attorney can negotiate a plea deal with the District Attorney where the case is dismissed if the driver attends a class, provides a DNA sample, and stays out of trouble for 90 days. This specific arrangement is called Deferred Entry of Judgment and it is an extremely valuable plea option because it allows the defendant to avoid a conviction for a crime of “moral turpitude”.
A favorite tool used by us at The Law Offices of EJ Stopyro is the “Civil Compromise”. This arrangement is specifically allowed by statute. It is found in California Penal Code Section 1377. Under this Statute, if the facts of the case aren’t bad and the defendant has no previous record, the District Attorney can often be persuaded to dismiss the charges altogether so long as the defendant pays restitution to the victim and the victim gives a statement that he or she does not desire prosecution.
B. Hit And Run With Injury Or Death
Jail, Probation and Fines
Felony hit and run prosecuted under Vehicle Code §20001 is punishable by imprisonment in the County Jail for up to one year or by imprisonment in the California State Prison for a period of 16 months, 2 years, or 3 years. There is also a fine between $1,000.00 and $10,000.00. The fine imposed by the court will include a “penalty assessment” which is pretty much a court-imposed tax of around 250%. If the judge doesn’t give you the maximum sentence, you will be placed on felony probation (or parole) for up to five years.
If the accident caused death or permanent, serious injury, then the court must sentence the defendant to a minimum of 90 days and up to one year in jail or by imprisonment in prison for 2, 3, or 4 years. “Permanent, serious injury” is defined by the penal code as loss or permanent impairment of function of a bodily member or organ. (Penal Code §20001(d))
If the defendant is also convicted of DUI and is also found guilty of Gross Vehicular Manslaughter under California Penal Code §191.5, then the defendant must be sentenced to a an additional consecutive term of five years in the state prison. (Vehicle Code §20001(c)) Consecutive means that the five-year term is added to the underlying sentence in the case.
Restitution
The court is also required to impose the condition that the defendant make restitution to the victim for any loss, including property damage, medical bills, etc.. Even if the accident turns out to be the “victims’” fault, the court maintains the authority to require the defendant to pay all damages.
Effect On Driver’s License
A hit and run conviction triggers a two-point penalty toward your driver’s license.
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