Hit and run attended vehicle.

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? South Carolina

I'm in South Carolina, charged and went to jail for 24 hours, and it's now in general sessions court, with hit and run attended vehicle with no injury, no damage. I doubt the other driver will even show up. I'm sure the cop will show up. what penalties am i facing?

please help.
best regards.

The least you'll get if found guilty is $100 plus costs. You could get a year in jail and $5000 fine.

I do not have a bad driving record, I have no criminal record, and I do have a good attorney. Just worried what I might be facing.

I think Ron just told you.

The reason I really ask is that there was no injury, no damage, and likely the other driver will not show up. According to Hit and Run Laws in South Carolina says "(1) a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be imprisoned not less than thirty days nor more than one year or fined not less than one hundred dollars nor more than five thousand dollars, or both, when injury results but great bodily injury or death does not result;"

the way I read that is if there is injury or damage. if the other driver is not there to testify, all there is, is the cops word and a police report.

The cop's word is going to carry a lot of weight. You're not going to try to lie and say you didn't hit them are you?

No I'm not going to lie, that would be stupid. I'm going to let my attorney speak for me, minimalize damage, and try to get out of it.

Expect to pay SOME fine at the very least.

You have an attorney. NO ONE here is better equipped to answer your questions.

Plan on asking for a dismissal based on lack of evidence, NO injury, NO damages. What do y'all think? My lawyer is busy, and I keep concerning myself.

bigorangekitty said:

Plan on asking for a dismissal based on lack of evidence, NO injury, NO damages. What do y'all think? My lawyer is busy, and I keep concerning myself.

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Note, that even if only YOUR car is damaged you have to stop. Furhter, I don't know how you knew there was no damage if you fled the scene.

Insurance companies have traded information, there was NO damage and NO injury.

i have received this advice, what do you think?
"If you have a clear case of no injury and no damage, Move for dismissal due to lack of evidence that an impact occurred reaching the level necessary to be considered hit and run. Your argument would be yes the vehicles touched, but based on your knowledge of physics and cars, the impact was so slight as to not provide opportunity for damage. Your assumption, proven correct in later confirmation, was that such a slight impact was also insufficient to cause injury. If you can claim without contradiction that you saw a gesture or absence of a gesture or a movement in the person in the other vehicle that suggested to you it was okay with them if you left, you could make this a case the judge isn't interested in having take up space in his court.

On the merits of your argument, I think you are swimming upstream to get a free pass on this unless you get lucky with the dismissal. I would expect it to go down in this way: If the judge denies your motion to dismiss, you'll enter a plea of not guilty. A date will be set for trial. You contact the prosecutor assigned to the case and express your willingness to go to trial on the argument you have, but in the interests of the expense to the community and the hassle of a trial for all involved, you'll accept a ticket for inattentive driving or something like that.

They will take the deal unless there are more facts you haven't yet provided."

ecmst12 said:

The cop's word is going to carry a lot of weight.

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Unless OP admitted to the police that he hit the car, anything the police officer says is hearsay.

You're not going to try to lie and say you didn't hit them are you?

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The fifth amendment prohibits forcing the defendant to testify. The burden of proof is on the prosecution.

If there is no witness to the impact, and there is no damage, it doesn't sound like there is any evidence, and the case should be dismissed.

That's not true. The officer can testify to what he observed directly which can be VERY informative depending on circumstances.

How did the police end up getting invovled?

Some male cops came to my door, woke me up, and took me to a female cop, who said that someone reported to her that i was involved in a hit and run. She said in her police report that i drive a silver Honda. I drive a gold Mazda 6. She arrested me without ID of my car. I posted PR bond. I called my insurance company when I got out. My insurance company said they were contacted by so-and-so's insurance company as required by law, and that there was no injury or damage.