Moving violation issued after accident

[pmd]

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

My son was recently issued a series of moving violations after an accident where the CHP officer was not present. He was not issued a citation at the time only mailed later. The violations were based on the statements given by the other driver who ran into his car from behind.

I'm pretty sure an officer can issue anything they like, but is this normal?

What options does my son have?

 

[racer72]

Perfectly normal and usual. The damaged vehicles are generally all the officer needs to determine whether a citation is warranted or not.

 

[I_Got_Banned]

The violations were based on the statements given by the other driver who ran into his car from behind.

You mean your son was not given an opportunity to give his own statement? Or that he simply refused to do so on his own accord?

I'm pretty sure an officer can issue anything they like, but is this normal?

Normal in the sense that an officer can issue citation for violations determined through an accident investigation. Not normal that there aren't usually "a series of violations" to cite for. But without knowing further details, it would be difficult to say either way!

What options does my son have?

It depends on the circumstances that caused the accident and the specific violations he was cited for.

 

[pmd]

Sure, he told the officer his side of the story. But it appears in the police report that several witnesses contradicted his statements...the problem is, there were no witnesses at the scene, only friends of the driver that ran into my son's car that showed up afterwards. The officer was not on the scene until 30 minutes after the accident.

Personally, I'm glad no one was hurt and told him he was lucky.
I was not there and am therefore not qualified to have an opinion.
Just wanted to know if he had any options...I guess he can take it to court somehow. Anyway, thanks for replying.

 

[The Occultist]

What are the actual violations? And what is your son's account of the accident?

For what it's worth, I am hearing that there are a few police departments out there that, as a policy, will not write tickets at the scene of a collision involving more than one vehicle in order to help decrease the potential of starting an argument at the scene. Yep, a lot easier to avoid the argument by mailing the ticket.

 

[Free_Advice]

Sure, he told the officer his side of the story. But it appears in the police report that several witnesses contradicted his statements...the problem is, there were no witnesses at the scene, only friends of the driver that ran into my son's car that showed up afterwards. The officer was not on the scene until 30 minutes after the accident.

Personally, I'm glad no one was hurt and told him he was lucky.
I was not there and am therefore not qualified to have an opinion.
Just wanted to know if he had any options...I guess he can take it to court somehow. Anyway, thanks for replying.

BIG MISTAKE .. if he said nothing then he would not gotten the ticket. Or at least have an easy victory in court.

 

[CdwJava]

BIG MISTAKE .. if he said nothing then he would not gotten the ticket. Or at least have an easy victory in court.

What?

Had he said nothing, then the other party's statement and that of the witnesses would still have resulted in the citation ... not to mention his refusal to speak would make him look guilty to his insurance company and anyone else who might read the report.

If the officer has undergone a specific program of training as outlined in the CVC the officer can issue citations for violations identified during the investigation. This is not uncommon.

As to what defense the OP's son might have, we do not know since we do not know what he has been charged with.