Hit and run with no hit?

In California, along a country road I had a blowout. I lost controll and the car flipped and ended up in a ditch along the side of the road. There was no damage to anything other than my car. Now they are charging me with hit and run because I left before the CHP arrived. Does this make sense?

Thanks for any help or insights, the court date is in a week and a half and I'm trying to figure out whether to plead guilty or not.

[stephenk]

"Now they are charging me with hit and run because I left before the CHP arrived."

Who called the CHP on this lonely country road? Did you damage any property when your car flipped and crashed?

I believe a passing car called on thier cell, and no--no property was damaged other than my own car unless you want to count the rim marks on the road due to the blowout. I didn't even hit a fence or a stump or anything at all.

Even though I believe the car was completely off the road they may be going to say that one corner of one bumper was protruding over the edge of the asphalt by six inches, would that make a difference? Maybe they are going to say that I didn't park the car safely as required by the statute?

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

Originally Posted by mystylplx

Maybe they are going to say that I didn't park the car safely as required by the statute?

My response:

Yeah, that's it. That's gotta be it. You hit their ditch, and then you failed to drag your car out of the ditch and to parallel park it. Shame on you!

IAAL

[VR_Hunter]

Originally Posted by mystylplx

In California, along a country road I had a blowout. I lost controll and the car flipped and ended up in a ditch along the side of the road. There was no damage to anything other than my car. Now they are charging me with hit and run because I left before the CHP arrived. Does this make sense?

Thanks for any help or insights, the court date is in a week and a half and I'm trying to figure out whether to plead guilty or not.

You left the scene of an accident. The police always get touchy when you leave the scene of an accident. It doesn't matter if you were the only one involved. Bad juju.

Originally Posted by VR_Hunter

You left the scene of an accident. The police always get touchy when you leave the scene of an accident. It doesn't matter if you were the only one involved. Bad juju.

So should I plead guilty or not guilty? It wouldn't seem right to plead guilty on the basis of bad juju, on the other hand I just want the least trouble from this as possible...

I have no prior record, if I plead not guilty and then am found guilty...what am I looking at?

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

Originally Posted by mystylplx

I have no prior record, if I plead not guilty and then am found guilty...what am I looking at?

My response:

Death row, pal. You'll be getting a needle in both arms!

How dare you get into a drunken accident, cause property damage, and then leave the scene of the accident.

IAAL

Originally Posted by I AM ALWAYS LIABLE

My response:

Death row, pal. You'll be getting a needle in both arms!

How dare you get into a drunken accident, cause property damage, and then leave the scene of the accident.

IAAL

I'm glad you find this to be so amusing--someone should.

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

My response:

What do you want, pal? We weren't there. Cops don't just hand out "hit and run" citations for nothing. They have better things to do than to cite otherwise innocent victims who happen to drive their cars into a ditch.

You're obviously not telling the whole story - - or, you were in such a drunken stupor, that you don't know the whole story and had no idea that you had hit that pole, or that guard rail, or whatever else.

So, when you finally find out in court what happened, and why you were cited for "hit and run", then come back to let us know; that is, unless you're behind bars.

IAAL

Originally Posted by I AM ALWAYS LIABLE

My response:

What do you want, pal? We weren't there. Cops don't just hand out "hit and run" citations for nothing. They have better things to do than to cite otherwise innocent victims who happen to drive their cars into a ditch.

You're obviously not telling the whole story - - or, you were in such a drunken stupor, that you don't know the whole story and had no idea that you had hit that pole, or that guard rail, or whatever else.

So, when you finally find out in court what happened, and why you were cited for "hit and run", then come back to let us know; that is, unless you're behind bars.

IAAL

Why so hostile? I just wanted some input from people who know the system better than I do. As for "not telling the whole story"--what more do you want? I wasn't drunk in spite of your nasty implications. And there was literally nothing there to hit--no guard rail, no pole, no rock, no stump, no fence, nada.

It truly says something about your character that in spite of the fact that you have nothing helpful to add you still feel the need to get your kicks by insinuating baseless accusations of 'drunkeness' to someone you've never met. There is something that most of us learn once we grow up and that is to keep our mouths shut when we have nothing intelligent to say. That is obviously a lesson you have yet to learn.

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

Originally Posted by mystylplx

Why so hostile? I just wanted some input from people who know the system better than I do. As for "not telling the whole story"--what more do you want? I wasn't drunk in spite of your nasty implications. And there was literally nothing there to hit--no guard rail, no pole, no rock, no stump, no fence, nada.

It truly says something about your character that in spite of the fact that you have nothing helpful to add you still feel the need to get your kicks by insinuating baseless accusations of 'drunkeness' to someone you've never met. There is something that most of us learn once we grow up and that is to keep our mouths shut when we have nothing intelligent to say. That is obviously a lesson you have yet to learn.

My response:

Oh, boo-hoo, boo-hoo. I'm crying a river for you because you'd rather hone in on that one statement, rather than finding out why the cop cited you for hit and run.

Also, don't tell me about "character", ass-hole. I'm not the one who can't drive, and I wasn't the one who ruined a vehicle by driving off the road into a ditch. There's a REASON why that happened to you, and like I said, that's why you're not telling us the whole story. It wasn't just a tire blow out, either. Most people, if not all, can still control their vehicle to a safe stop after a blowout, without going into a ditch, and flipping their cars. So, I was left to extrapolate from THAT, that you must have been drunk - - otherwise, the sides and ditches of roadways would be littered with vehicles - - right? Normal drivers, and normal driving, don't find the average driver in a ditch.

You're the one who said, "Now they are charging me with hit and run because I left before the CHP arrived." So, because you haven't bothered to call the police department or the Highway Patrol (whomever cited you) to find out WHY you received that type of citation and charge, I'm left to wonder why you're so stupid for not having called them - - which is why I said to you, "So, when you finally find out in court what happened, and why you were cited for "hit and run", then come back to let us know; that is, unless you're behind bars."

IAAL

Originally Posted by I AM ALWAYS LIABLE

My response:

Oh, boo-hoo, boo-hoo. I'm crying a river for you because you'd rather hone in on that one statement, rather than finding out why the cop cited you for hit and run.

Also, don't tell me about "character", ass-hole. I'm not the one who can't drive, and I wasn't the one who ruined a vehicle by driving off the road into a ditch. There's a REASON why that happened to you, and like I said, that's why you're not telling us the whole story. So, I was left to extrapolate from THAT, that you must have been drunk - - otherwise, the sides and ditches of roadways would be littered with vehicles - - right? Normal drivers, and normal driving, don't find the average driver in a ditch.

You're the one who said, "Now they are charging me with hit and run because I left before the CHP arrived." So, because you haven't bothered to call the police department or the Highway Patrol (whomever cited you) to find out WHY you received that type of citation and charge, I'm left to wonder why you're so stupid for not having called them - - which is why I said to you, "So, when you finally find out in court what happened, and why you were cited for "hit and run", then come back to let us know; that is, unless you're behind bars."

IAAL

Wow! After that response I just have to ask--does your Mommy know you are playing with her computer? It's always amusing to watch children trying to act like adults, particularly when those children are over 21.

Is there anyone here who is mature enough to answer my questions without the childish name calling and baseless inuendos that seem to define Liable's intellectual limits?

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

Originally Posted by mystylplx

Wow! After that response I just have to ask--does your Mommy know you are playing with her computer? It's always amusing to watch children trying to act like adults, particularly when those children are over 21.

Is there anyone here who is mature enough to answer my questions without the childish name calling and baseless inuendos that seem to define Liable's intellectual limits?

My response:

And, why are you finding it so difficult to answer my questions?

Got something to hide? Is that why you left the scene?

IAAL

[gryndor]

Admittedly IAAL can be harsh, but in all fairness, he treats idiots like idiots and intellegent people fairly well.

I think the purpose of this board is to help out where you are lacking. Basically, YOU (the OP) didn't do any of your own research (i.e. call the CHP, look for similar situations on the internet or in the courthouse). You came here with a problem and want these people to solve it FOR you.

You need to solve this YOURSELF and if you are lacking a crucial bit of info, (that you have already tried to find), you may find it here.

Put a little effort of your own in this without stamping your feet at the person who called you out. Effort and research is what I put into MY situations and then people like IAAL were incredibly helpful and informative.

If you act like an idiot, I guarantee you'll be treated as one on this board.

My 2 cents

Originally Posted by gryndor

Admittedly IAAL can be harsh, but in all fairness, he treats idiots like idiots and intellegent people fairly well.

I think the purpose of this board is to help out where you are lacking. Basically, YOU (the OP) didn't do any of your own research (i.e. call the CHP, look for similar situations on the internet or in the courthouse). You came here with a problem and want these people to solve it FOR you.

You need to solve this YOURSELF and if you are lacking a crucial bit of info, (that you have already tried to find), you may find it here.

Put a little effort of your own in this without stamping your feet at the person who called you out. Effort and research is what I put into MY situations and then people like IAAL were incredibly helpful and informative.

If you act like an idiot, I guarantee you'll be treated as one on this board.

My 2 cents

I did call the CHP officer who responded. He doesn't know why they are charging me with hit and run. He says it's not his call--it's up to the D.A.

And asking questions on this board IS doing research. I'm not an attorney. I wouldn't know where to even FIND a Law library much less how to interpret what I found there. I've searched the internet with as many keyword combinations as I can think of that might turn up something relevant but can't even find any mentions of cases where there is a hit and run charge with no damage.

If you want to think I'm an idiot for asking a question then go ahead. And if you want to defend someone who's only responses have been cutesy comments that have gotten progressively more hostile and nasty then go ahead. Now, strangely, he wants to know why I didn't answer his questions...apparently he thinks he asked me some questions.

Actually, I think I've got all the answers I need. What I most wanted to know was is it normal to charge people with hit and run even when there is no damage (like is there any case law which redefines the statute to make this possible). Based on all your responses it sounds like the answer is 'no.'