Leaving the Scene Explained
The act of leaving the scene of an accident is a broad and general term. This can be the act of bearing responsibility for a collision, by remaining at the accident scene and providing pertinent information to the responding law enforcement officers. It is also the act of leaving the scene of an accident without providing pertinent information to the police officers. As stated before, both can be criminal acts as well as violation of the civil law with respect to actions of negligence in the handling and care of other involved persons and vehicles. For purposes of this article the leave the scene of the accident will be defined broadly to mean the mandatory requirement of any driver involved in a collision to remain at the scene, and provide appropriate and relevant information to the responding agency following the accident. This will involve more than simply evident needs of operators in the care and handling of their vehicle and property. It also will involve the needs in terms of providing adequate assistance to any injured persons, and safeguarding any involved vehicles such that no further harm occurs to others. For example, there is the requirement to remove an abandoned vehicle or objects that block traffic . This is in part derived from Nuehring v. Williams, 324 S.C. 472, and was further supported in Dunn v. Dunn, 347 S.C. 343. This is a manner of affirmative conduct, required by law – for example obstruction of traffic occurs, and it may be required that the driver or operator remove objects from the road and off of the roadway – otherwise, the individual could be subject to criminal prosecution as well as civil action for damages to any striking vehicle or person. What constitutes a violation of leaving the scene of an accident with respect to the driver who subsequently departs is not always clear. It may not always constitute an affirmative act of moving the vehicle and departing, because leaving the scene with a motor vehicle, and departing from the scene without providing appropriate information. However, if the vehicle is inoperative the requirements are the same in terms of being required to provide necessary information. It will make no difference if the driver is incapable of moving the vehicle back on the roadway for some reason, in that they immediately are required to reside and remain at the accident scene until such time as they are permitted to leave.
Penal Law in the States
The legal definitions of leaving the scene of an accident are not uniform throughout the fifty states. The legal meaning of the term "accident" or what constitutes leaving the scene of an accident, or the nature and extent of the exception to the vehicular manslaughter statute, can vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.
State laws regarding vehicular manslaughter and leaving the scene of an accident are commonly misunderstood. For example, in some states vehicular manslaughter or failure to report an accident can result in felony charges, while leaving the scene of a fatal accident may only result in a misdemeanor. Some states define vehicular homicide as the unlawful killing of a human being as a result of the operator’s (a) criminal negligence, or (b) while the operator was intoxicated or impaired.
Some states require the existence of gross criminal negligence in order to find the actor criminally liable for vehicular manslaughter or vehicular homicide. Other states do not define a culpable state of mind such as negligence or recklessness. Illinois, for example, does not require the proof of a culpable state of mind in order to find one guilty of involuntary manslaughter in violation of the vehicular manslaughter statute.
Some states define the term "accident" in the vehicular manslaughter statute but in so doing fail to exclude the term intentional act, whereas other states interpret the statute to exclude the term accident where the recklessness or negligence of the operator is sufficiently egregious to constitute an intentional malicious act.
Penalties are not standardized between jurisdictions for leaving the scene of an accident. Certain states impose sentencing guidelines that are more stringent than in other states. States such as California, New York, Maine and New Jersey are known to be relatively punitive jurisdictions for vehicular-related offenses in general.
States such as Michigan, on the other hand, are known to be less punitive with respect to vehicular-related offenses. For example, under Michigan’s Criminal Code, the phrase "death by auto" is not used and all traffic fatalities are invariably treated as a misdemeanor except for those involving two elements (one) where the driver acted with gross negligence; and (two) the driver failed to stop at the accident scene, see Mich. Comp. Laws Ann. 600.462.
Michigan law further provides that "gross negligence" means that degree of negligence which an ordinary reasonably and prudent person would exercise under like or similar circumstances, see Mich. Comp. Laws Ann. 750.81 Classroom manuals on negligence reiterate the general definition of negligence as that degree of care which an ordinary and prudent person would exercise under like or similar circumstances. It is also well-settled that ordinary conduct gives rise to civil liability only if it is unreasonable, reckless, or grossly negligent.
In Massachusetts is a person has been the owner of a motor vehicle for a period of 30 days or less, no fine shall be imposed for failure to comply, see Mass. Gen. Laws Ann. Ch. 90, ยง 26. In Massachusetts the vehicular manslaughter statute carries with it penalties of up 20 years imprisonment and a fine of $25,000, see Mass. Gen. Laws Ann. Ch. 90, section 24(2).
In New Jersey fines for leaving the scene of an accident must range from $2,500 to $5,000. Imprisonment must not exceed 90 days, and community service must range from 30 to 90 days, see N.J.S.A. 39:4-129.
In Georgia, an individual found guilty of leaving the scene of an accident where death results is subject to a fine of $10,000 and a possible 10 year sentence.
The Offense of Leaving the Scene
The legal consequences for leaving the scene of an accident vary from state to state. In Connecticut, Section 14-224 of the General Statutes sets forth that any person who is involved in an accident and fails to stop at the scene or fail to identify themselves or give information or render assistance to a person injured or who requires aid is guilty of a class D felony. In addition, leaving the scene or failing to provide information such as name, address and operator’s license may subject the person to civil action, license suspension, as well as other penalties.
Additionally, leaving the scene of an accident can have serious consequences on your insurance premiums. Insurance companies consider leaving the scene of an accident to be an egregious behavior and offenders are often subject to steep premium increases.
Otherwise trivial accidents can be considered felonies if the person responsible for the accident has fled the scene. Not only will the person facing charges be subject to criminal penalties, but they will likely be held liable civilly for damages.
Duty Upon a Car Accident
It is a legal requirement that a driver shall stop his or her vehicle and give any reasonable assistance to any other person adversely affected by a motor vehicle accident. Indeed, this statutory obligation is imposed upon the driver of any vehicle involved in an accident, irrespective of whether he or she caused the accident in question. Importantly, a failure to stop, provide assistance, exchange the particulars of the drivers involved , and/or report the accident as prescribed above is an offence for which a significant monetary penalty may be imposed and/or a period of driver licence disqualification ordered (subject to any potential criminal sanctions applicable in the event of a serious failure to comply with such requirements). Further, it is practically impossible to successfully seek compensation for personal injury and/or property damage in circumstances where a person has fled the scene of an accident so as to avoid meeting his or her obligations in this regard. As is often the case, the importance of maintaining detailed notes of the particulars of any motor vehicle accident is vital to ensuring compliance with such obligations and all legal rights are met.
Defense Against An Accident Charge
Common defenses in this type of case include lack of knowledge, quasi-emergency circumstances and mistaken identity. If someone does not know there has been an accident and then later finds out there has been one, he or she has a defense and that is true whether the person who he or she collided with calls the police or a citizen in the area calls the police. A good example of lack of knowledge defence would be how does the court deal with the case of two trucks colliding in the middle of the night out in the country in the absence of any witnesses who have seen the collision. A second common defense is quasi-emergency circumstances. The law provides that the pedestrian in a crosswalk has a duty to get out of the way of a motor vehicle that is operating under emergency circumstances. There have been numerous cases where people did not get out of the way of vehicles trying to get to the hospital and who were injured as a result. A Quasi-emergency situation, therefore, can serve as a complete defense in a leaving the scene case.
Impact on Driving Record and Employment
In California, when a person is convicted of leaving the scene of an accident, the DMV will tag the individual for a pull notice on their driving record. A pull notice is a warning that the driver’s record must be reviewed for driving convictions. Employers may request their employees’ driving records and may terminate employment over an employee’s MVR if they find that there are too many recent violations. It is at the employer’s discretion as to what they feel is acceptable and what is unacceptable.
This violation will create a misdemeanor record for the individual which could make it very difficult to get a job , if the employer does record checks. The long-term impact of such an infraction could end up being that one gets laid off from a job, gets suspended from driving privileges, has their insurance premiums increased and might have difficulty securing any future employment.