-Mike, I know you were a cop for 13 years.
Now you're a defense lawyer.
And I know you're an expert on the area of hit and run and
hit and run law in California, and I want to
ask you about that.
But let me ask you first of all.
If you're in an accident in California,
what are your duties?
What does the law say you have to do afterwards?
-Well, here in California, we make a little distinction.
If there's a traffic accident and there's property damage
only, the requirements are one, either you can report it
to the police or minimally exchange information with the
other driver or the other property owner.
Let's say, for example, you strike a fence.
You got to get out, get the information of the property
owner, perhaps some way to identify.
And ultimately, if it's over $750 worth of damage, report
it to the Department of Motor Vehicles.
-What if the owner is not there?
Let's say I scrape a car that's parked, and I can't
find the owner.
-I tell people all the time.
Reasonable efforts to leave the information necessary for
you to be identified.
For example, if that situation happened with me, I would
leave my business card or my cell number on
the door of the property.
And I want them to know I was involved in an accident,
please call me.
That's one of the simple ways to do that.
Now, it changes, though, if in fact there's an injury.
If someone is hurt in a traffic accident, your duties
are much different.
Not only do you have to stop, but you have to render
reasonable aid and then report it to law enforcement.
-Now, let me ask you, Mike.
Is hit and run, is it a misdemeanor or a felony in
California?
-It actually could be both.
For example, under vehicle section 20002 property damage
only would be a misdemeanor.
However, under vehicle section 20001, if someone is injured,
and you leave the scene without identifying who you
are or rendering reasonable aid or staying around until
the police arrive< you could be charged as a felony.
And there's very severe ramifications even.
If you're charged with a misdemeanor, hit and run
causing injury, a violation of 20001 if you admit that
allegation or are found guilty, the Department of
Motor Vehicle will revoke your driver's license for a minimum
of one year.
-What if you didn't realize there was damage?
I mean I've had calls from people who say there was a
fender-bender, and it was sort of a loud street.
They didn't realize that there was contact or damage.
But later, the police contacted them and said, well,
somebody reported you for hit and run.
And apparently, you did cause damage.
If didn't know there was damage, can you still be
charged with hit and run?
-Well, you can be charged with hit and run if the DA believes
you did know.
What the bottom line is this.
That's an absolute defense to that case.
If in fact you reasonably didn't have the facts to
believe that you actually struck another vehicle, and
you caused some property damage to someone, there's no
requirement then to report it.
It's also the totality of circumstances
on a case like that.
And there are case by case bases.
And where we see often, at least here, at least in San
Bernardino, is we have some ongoing construction of the
215 freeway where the lanes are narrowing, and they have
these K rails really impeding on the traffic.
We recently had a case where someone was accused of
side-swiping another car.
Our client really did not know that.
The DA filed the case anyway based upon the CHP report.
We were able to gather witness statements from other people
in our client's car, and we showed them to the DA.
The DA believed those statements, and
our case was dismissed.
-Let me ask you.
What if it's difference dangerous to stop?
I mean, let's say you have an accident with someone, and
you're in sort of a bad neighborhood.
And this angry mob starts to gather around, and you feel
that your safety would be threatened.
That it's really not safe for you to stop right there at the
scene and get out of the car.
So you drive off somewhere and maybe contact the police.
But you didn't stop right away.
Is that a defense?
Can you be prosecuted in that case?
-That is a defense.
And actually, I tell my own daughter, who's now 26, if
you're an accident in an area that you're unfamiliar with or
you're worried about, it's dark, and
you're out there alone.
If your cell phone's not working, to leave that area.
Find the closest phone you can get to, and then call the
accident in.
That's good advice for anybody.
And that actually would lead to a defense, and we often
have cases like that.
Currently, we have a case up in the Victorville courthouse
where our client was driving down a lonely road, late at
night, struck something.
She believed she struck a coyote.
She continued on.
She didn't have her cellphone with her.
She did not have her cell phone with her.
Stopped at the next available place, which was around 10
miles away, called her mom.
Her mother said, don't worry about it.
Just come home.
When you get home, we'll call the police.
She drove another 30 miles to her house.
About two hours go by, they call the police.
The police say, don't worry about, it's not our
jurisdiction.
And the next day, the CHP are investigating an accident
when, actually, it wasn't a coyote.
But it was a person.
And in that case, they charged her with felony hit and run.
And that case is currently in litigation, and our defense is
exactly that--
-She didn't know that anyone was injured.
It was reasonable to believe that she struck a coyote in
this remote area in the desert and that she did you go home
and report it.
But the police didn't want to take the report because she
had left the jurisdiction from one agency to another.
-What about improving the crime?
I mean, is it enough for the DA to show that it was my car
in a hit and run?
Or do they have show I was a driver?
Let's say my car is involved in a hit and run accident this
morning, and someone takes down the plate.
It's very clearly my car, but no one sees who's driving.
They don't have any evidence that I was the one driving,
and potentially, someone else could have
been driving my car.
Is that enough for the DA to make their case?
Or do they have to show I was the one actually behind the
wheel?
-Well, certainly.
DAs make cases like we do building blocks.
Just like we defend cases, knocking down
the building blocks.
And part of it is they can't just prove that their vehicle
was involved.
They need to prove who the actual driver was.
And in this day and age, unfortunately, for people that
do exercise some poor judgment in that momentary minute of
time, there's lots of additional
resources now for the DAs.
We have these light cameras that take a picture of you
three blocks away, or new vehicles have the
black boxes in them.
They follow you, and people will call on their cell phone.
And the police do a really great job modernly of tracking
down people through these scientific means to find out
right after the accident, your phone was called your mother's
number from a cell site two blocks from
the accident scene.
So there are ways for them, absent of an eyewitness
saying, yes, that's the person who was driving, modernly, to
try to put you behind the wheel of that car.
-But at the end of the day, before they can convict me of
hit and run, they have to prove I was the one driving.
-Absolutely.
They have to be able to convince a jury of 12 people
that not only was it your car involved in that accident, but
you were the driver.
-Now, let me ask you this.
I get calls, periodically, from people who say, listen, I
was contacted by the CHP, either on the phone or a voice
mail or letter, and says you're a person of interest in
a hit and run incident.
We want to interview.
We need to come down to the station.
We need you to contact this detective.
Should they go contact detective on their own?
-Absolutely not.
We handle many cases a year like this.
And what we do is we'll open up this case for these folks,
what we call it pre-filing investigative case.
And what we'll do is we'll independently investigate the
accident with the attorney-client privilege.
We'll find out what's going on.
We'll contact law enforcement and find out where they are in
the case, confirm some information.
And eventually, while we'll tell the police our client
will always be cooperative, the truth of
the matter is this.
It's a rare occasion that we'll allow someone to give a
statement to police.
It's aberrational.
It happens occasionally.
Everything's on a case-by-case basis.
But for the most part, it's a rare occasion that we'll allow
a client to speak to law enforcement in a situation
like that.
-So absolutely don't call the police back.
Call your attorney and let your attorney handle it.
-Perfectly said.
That's exactly what you should do.
I'm Mike Scaffidi, a retired police officer and now a
criminal defense attorney with Shouse Law Group.
If you or a loved one are in trouble and
need help, call me.