CRASHED & CONFUSED? LEFT THE SCENE OF AN ACCIDENT? WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT?

CRASHED & CONFUSED?

LEFT THE SCENE OF AN ACCIDENT?

WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING AT?

Getting into an accident is no fun. If you are lucky enough to be able to walk away, or even better drive away, don’t. The law requires you to immediately stop. You cannot leave the scene of an accident. But if you do, contact an attorney right away. Because when the police come calling, you don’t want to answer. Hiring a criminal defense attorney is the only thing you can do to possibly avoid the serious and significant consequences of Leaving the Scene of an Accident (“LTS”).

So What are those consequences?

The consequences of leaving the scene of an accident depend on:

• Whether or not the accident involved personal injury or death.
• When it is reported.

Leaving the scene of an  accident involving only damage to any vehicle is a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by probation or up to 1 year in the county jail. On the other hand, if someone is injured, you’re looking at felony charges that could include prison. The basic breakdown of the rules and penalties for LTS are as follows:

DUTY UNDER THE LAW:

When you turned 16, you didn’t just get your Driver’s License, you agreed to follow the Illinois Vehicle Code. All 20 Chapters and the thousands of statutes they contain. By law, you are presumed to know all of them. Ignorance of the law is not a defense. Your duty under the law will depend on what type of accident occured.

UNATTENDED CAR/PROPERTY:

• Immediately stop
  • Without obstructing traffic “as much as possible”
• Locate the operator or owner of property OR
• Attach a note (written notice):
  • In a conspicuous (obvious) place on or in vehicle or property struck
  • Stating:
    • Driver’s name;
    • Owner’s name;
    • Address;
    • Registration number;
• Notify nearest police station of accident within 10 days of accident if:
  • Property damage > $1500.
    • > $500 if motorist uninsured.
  • Keep in mind that the 10 day deadline to notify law enforcement is longest you can wait before reporting. The law technically requires notification of these types of accidents “as soon as possible.”

CAR ACCIDENT-VEHICLE DAMAGE:

• Immediately Stop
  • If on highway: allowed to move the vehicle as soon as possible off the highway to the nearest safest location that does not obstruct traffic & remains at that location until providing required information.
• Contact police “by fastest means available”

Not only do you have to stop, you have to duty to provide to the other driver:

• Your name
• Address
• Registration number
• Driver’s license (if requested)

CAR ACCIDENT-PERSONAL INJURY/DEATH:

In addition to stopping and then notifying police, in Accidents involving personal injury or death, you also have a duty to:

• Render “reasonable assistance” to anyone injured

• • Specifically including:
    • Carrying of, or making arrangement for carrying of, a person to a medical professional/hospital:
      • If it is apparent treatment is necessary; OR
      • Requested by the injured person.

If you fail to provide this type of assistance, you can be charged with a cl. A misdemeanor. Additionally, should you make the mistake of leaving such an accident, you have HALF AN HOUR to report the accident to the nearest police station before your class 4 felony LTS turns into a class 2 or class 1 felony.

IT DOESN’T MATTER WHO CAUSED THE ACCIDENT

This is THE MOST IMPORTANT thing to remember about accidents and leaving the scene. The other guy was driving the wrong way down the street? Who cares. Someone runs in front of your car? Doesn’t matter.

This applies to anyone involved in the accident. That means even if your buddy is hurt and doesn’t want the cops involved-too bad. The penalties for LTS the scene are the same no matter which party to the accident is actually injured.

It doesn’t matter who is at fault. If you are involved in an accident: YOU HAVE TO STOP. Period. Full stop.

The law only recognizes three situations where that rule doesn’t apply:

• Hospitalized or incapacitated from reporting
  • But still must report to law enforcement within ½ hour of discharge from the hospital or your will face felony charges.

• NECESSITY:
  • Necessity is one of the oldest criminal defenses in legal history. It is sometimes referred to as the “choice of evils” defense. In Illinois, establishing a necessity defense requires:
    • You committed a criminal offense; and
    • You were without blame in causing/developing the situation; and
    • You reasonably believed your illegal conduct was necessary to avoid public or private injury > the injury which may reasonably occur as a result of the illegal conduct.
      • Specifically, the conduct chosen must promote some higher value than the value of literal compliance with the law.
  • Necessity defenses for Leaving the Scene charges are rarely successful. Pulling into your driveway because its close or even having a medical emergency have been rejected by Illinois courts in the past.

• COMPULSION:
  • Compulsion can be asserted as a defense If you drive away from an accident because you, your spouse, or your child are being threatened with the “imminent infliction of death or great bodily harm.”
  • As with Necessity, compulsion defenses are rarely successful and difficult to prove.

HAVE TO KNOW YOU WERE IN AN ACCIDENT:

In order to be found guilty of LTS, the law requires you actually knew you were in an accident. However, to be found guilty of a felony LTS (personal injury/death), the State needs to prove you knew the accident involved another person.

SUBMISSION TO CHEMICAL TESTING

If you are arrested for LTS involving a personal injury or death, you are subject the testing of your blood, breath, urine, and “other bodily substance” for the presence of drugs or alcohol. The key to remember is that this testing must be done within 12 hours of the accident to be admissible as evidence against you.

DRIVER’S LICENSE CONSEQUENCES

If you are convicted of LTS involving a personal injury or death, your license will be revoked.

If you are convicted of leaving the scene, the impact on your license will be:

• LTS unattended vehicle = no suspension/revocation.
• LTS-involving only vehicle damage (over $1000) = possible 1 year suspension.
• LTS-personal injury/death= 3 year revocation.

WHAT IF YOU’RE DRUNK

Avoiding a DUI is often the suspected motive for LTS. To address this problem, Illinois imposes consecutive sentences for people convicted of DUI and LTS in the same incident. That means the sentence you receive for the LTS will begin once you completed your sentence for DUI, instead of running together as is common in many criminal sentences.

CONCLUSION

It doesn’t matter if you are drunk or don’t have insurance or a valid license, it is never a good idea to leave the scene of any motor vehicle accident. You can lose your license, or even worse, your freedom. If you do make this mistake, you need to call a lawyer immediately. You don’t have to face the fear of an investigation alone. The criminal defense lawyers at Robert J Callahan, we can prevent you from being charged with Leaving the Scene of an Accident and how to protect their rights & driving record if you are. Before you talk to anyone else, talk to us. Don’t let one split second mistake put your record and liberty on the line. It doesn’t have to.