Hit and Run: Dangerous for the Victim and the Accused

Posted on: September 24, 2008 at 11:54 a.m.

Hit and run is the crime of colliding with a person, their personal property (including their motor vehicle), or a fixture, and failing to stop and identify oneself afterwards. Los Angeles criminal defense attorneys who defend the accused in such cases understand the severity of the charges and the penalties.

In Los Angeles recently, an alleged hit and run driver was behind bars after a hit and run accident, in which a woman was fatally struck in a Northridge crosswalk, police said. The woman was arrested after the accident on a hit and run charge in the 10300 block of North Lindley Avenue.

The victim died on the spot about 5:25 p.m., a fire department spokeswoman said. The suspect vehicle was westbound on Devonshire when it went through a red light, striking the victim, who was walking south across Lindley.

Police found the white sport utility vehicle that struck the woman abandoned near Devonshire and Reseda Boulevard, Lee said. The victim of the hit and run accident is believed to have been a Cal State Northridge student, because of the papers and books she was carrying at the time of the crash.

According to California Penal Code 20001:
The driver of any vehicle involved in an accident resulting in injury to any person, other than himself or herself, or in the death of any person shall immediately stop the vehicle at the scene of the accident. Any person who violates this law shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison, or in a county jail for not more than one year, or by a fine of not less than $1,000 nor more than $10,000, or by both that imprisonment and fine. If the accident results in death or permanent, serious injury, any person who violates this law shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for two, three, or four years, or in a county jail for not less than 90 days nor more than one year, or by a fine of not less than $1,000 nor more than $10,000, or by both that imprisonment and fine. However, the court, in the interests of justice and for reasons stated in the record, may reduce or eliminate the minimum imprisonment required by this paragraph.

Before a person is sentenced for committing hit and run, the court will evaluate a variety of factors such as the nature of the accident, if any person was injured during the accident, the severity of the other person

Tagged as: violent crimes defense

Comments:

Sheila Kouhkan- CS 174 on December 1, 2009 at 6:09 p.m. wrote:

Hit and Run accidents are more common than people believe, yet there is not much talk about what can be done to stop them. As a victim of two hit and run accidents myself, I have observed that the only thing that ensures finding the suspect of a hit and run is fast-acting on behalf of the victims, witnesses, and police officers. However, there is no guarantee that these collaborated efforts will find the suspect. Hit and run suspects get away with these crimes far too often, and these accidents often cause great physical and emotional distress due to the complications that take place from a hit and run driver. What makes these crimes even worse is that there are other reasons why the suspect did a hit and run. For example, suspects may flee the scene of the accident because they are uninsured or are under the influence of some sort of substance. These are even greater reasons as to why we must get these drivers off the road efficiently. So, I wonder what can be done to not only find hit and run suspects, but to prevent hit and run accidents from happening in the first place.

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Hit and Run: Dangerous for the Victim and the Accused

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