Oh no!!! HIT AND RUN!!!! what to do?!?!

[ArkiStan]

well, actually it's my friend and he's the one who performed the hit&run. He was asking for some advice so I told him not to worry cause I'd consult my uhhh legal advisors over at the mmmm place that's.... here. Anyway, so here's the story.

My friend who lives in Minnesota was driving his truck on a dark snowy evening. He loses control slightly and bumps a crappy looking fence that's in front of a crappy looking apartment complex. It's dark and the fence is only dented lightly so he thinks 'oh what the hell.' He looks around once and leaves. A couple days later he gets a letter from the hit & run division of the police, saying to setup an appointment to come in. He wonders how he got caught on that dark evening. Turns out his front license plate fell off with the little "bump." The police found the plate and did a little check up and that's how they found my friend. ( :heh: ok I had the hardest time trying not to laugh when he told me the story)


Ok it wasn't a person, just a fence. So my friend wants to know:

1. What's a good way to explain this to the police?? I mean, there are obviously better explanations than "I looked around. Nobody was there, so I took off."

2. What's the worst that could happen in his case (in addition to having to pay for the fence)?? Are criminal records a possibility??

[JPR]

Well in most states fleeing the scene of an accident is a felony which might get him in a bit of trouble. I would tell your friend to just fess up and tell them the truth.

[Grimm]

Get a lawyer. Get a lawyer. Get a lawyer.

The police have to prove he was driving.

Your friend is a moron. He should have gone to the manager's office and left a note to call to arange for the repair.

If you are going to try to get away with it, always check your plates after an accident, they come off easily and if you commit a crime you don't want to leave absolute proof that your vehical was there.

He is in serious trouble. They can make a big deal out of it and end up giving him jail time. Yes, he will have a criminal record. A lawyer might be able to get him off with reckless driving and paying for the damage if he can convince the judge that he didn't see any damage. Or that he tried to find the manager's office and couldn't find it in the dark.

Get a lawyer. Get a lawyer. Get a lawyer.

[topane]

Originally posted by JPR
Well in most states fleeing the scene of an accident is a felony which might get him in a bit of trouble. I would tell your friend to just fess up and tell them the truth. :stupid:

[chrissy]

Yeah, telling the truth would be a big plus. Being in montana, ice is common this time of year :) He might want to get a lawyer to watch his back.

[El Scorcho]

in the words of jim carey,

"stop breakin the law, a**hole!"

:heh:

[ArkiStan]

Just curious. So if he's just gonna confess and tell the truth, in what way would the lawyer be helping?

[irwin]

Talk about terrible luck...

[ArkiStan]

Originally posted by passwird
Talk about terrible luck...

tell him about it....

[Grimm]

Originally posted by ArkiStan
Just curious. So if he's just gonna confess and tell the truth, in what way would the lawyer be helping?
If he just tells the truth they can just screw him.

If the lawyer is there to help him he can make sure he gets some slack for telling the truth.

GET A LAWYER!!!

[Grimm]

A friend of mine was facing a hit and run and a DUI for running into a guard rail. She already had one DUI. She was looking at some time. Her lawyer got the DUI dismissed and the H&R reduced to reckless driving. She paid fines and damages as well as some time in classes, but not more than a weekend in jail, as opposed to a year.

GET A LAWYER!!!

[ArkiStan]

Originally posted by chosenfool


so you're saying he should get a lawyer?

:P

So THAT's what he was trying to say!!!

[El Scorcho]

Originally posted by Grimm
GET A LAWYER!!!

http://www.nohomers.net/multimedia/images/others/hutz_pointing.gif

[Grimm]

Originally posted by chosenfool


so you're saying he should get a lawyer?

:P

Well, that or an attorney... :heh:

[OC]

Originally posted by Grimm
GET A LAWYER!!!
:stupid:

[Ladogaboy]

Stan, your friend is in trouble... possibly big trouble. First thing's first, he should consult a lawyer. :P And that is before he says anything to the police. Any other advice that I'd give is/should be unimportant, because, from the point on, your friend should be getting advice from an attorney.

More than likely, in a case like this (since no one is hurt and it sounds like minimal property damage), your friend could possibly get off with as little as just paying damages and a fine. Well, hopefully, anyway.