hit and run

[Cindycrs]

Someone rearended my car today and ran off. I pulled over and the other driver ran off. I didn't get a chance to get a look at the driver. But I got the license plate number. I wrote that down and the time of the day it happened. I called the police five minutes after the hit and run.

Is the license plate number and color of the car enough information for the DA or someone to charge the other driver with a hit and run? I didn't get a big dent. I just don't like the idea of him or her getting away with it.

 

[CdwJava]

Someone rearended my car today and ran off. I pulled over and the other driver ran off. I didn't get a chance to get a look at the driver. But I got the license plate number. I wrote that down and the time of the day it happened. I called the police five minutes after the hit and run.

Is the license plate number and color of the car enough information for the DA or someone to charge the other driver with a hit and run? I didn't get a big dent. I just don't like the idea of him or her getting away with it.

You will also have to identify the driver. While the license plate might be sufficient to dertermine ownership and thus civil responsibility for damages, the driver is the one responsible for the crime. The plate and vehicle description alone will not be enough to prosecute for a crime .. a civil suit and insurance claim, yes - crime, no. It's likely the police can get an admission, but unless you can identify the driver in some way, they may not get to criminal court.

- Carl

 

[Cindycrs]

Thank you Carl.

Just wondering ..... is it feasible that the police can ask the registered owner where he was at the time of the accident like they do in murder investigation sometimes?

Maybe circumstantial evidence works better in murder cases than in hit and run cases. Unless the hit and run resulted in death?

Should I even bother to make a report? :blush Even if it could never get to criminal court I was hoping that the owner could be asked a few questions from the police or that something could occur (without having to start a lawsuit) so that the driver (if it's not the same person as the owner) could hear about it and learn a lesson.
Because the next time the driver hits somebody and runs there could be an injury or worse, and that's what's been bugging me.

Thanks,
Cindy

 

[CdwJava]

Thank you Carl.

Just wondering ..... is it feasible that the police can ask the registered owner where he was at the time of the accident like they do in murder investigation sometimes?

They can ask, but the driver can lie or refuse to answer.

The problem is that an admission may not be enough for a DA to prosecute. While the reasonable inference would be that the registered owner or a close family member drove the car, there is no certainty that this happened. likewise, there is generally no legal requirement that the registered owner advise who the driver might have been. Usually they do 'fess up or give up the driver, but they do not have to. In those cases a civil suit is probably best because the level of evidence needed to prevail in a civil court is much less than in criminal court.

It probably won't hurt to MAKE the report ... you never know where it might go.

- Carl