What Are Your Options After a Hit-and-Run Accident

[DBFIU]

My question involves an injury that occurred in the state of: FLORIDA

Person A is driving in their car with her two infant children in the back seats strapped properly in their baby seats. Weather and visibility is extremely poor, it is pouring raining and cloudy. Traffic was very harsh, main highway on a friday evening during rush hour.

Person A gets into a collision with another car and is probably at fault since it was a rearending. Person A airbags deploy, children get scared but are not injured. Person A pulls over, and waits for the paramedics and police to arrive. Weather is still poor and about 30 minutes elapse until the time the collision takes place until paramedics arrive. Officers are at the scene, person A is worried about children because she can't open the window due to heavy rain or tend to them. Person A begins to drive away with concern that her children are either hungry, scared, crying etc... She drops them off at a friends house to be watched.

Relatives of person A arrive at impact scene, officers tell relatives that person A must return to the scene immediately or things can 'go from bad to worse'. Officers were not sympathetic, probably partly due to having to stand in the rain.

Relatives immediately contact person A and prompt her to return, she returns to the scene. A timespan of no more than 45 minutes has elapsed from when person A left the scene until she returned. Officers handcuffed person A and jailed them on a $2,500 bond for release the next morning.

Here is the question.

Person A has zero criminal history and even in fact works in the legal field (not a lawyer but has experience a as a paralegal), but alas she is also a mother of two and panicked.
She was afraid for her childrens safety and panicked, so she felt the best thing to do was take them home and not leave them in the rain/hungry etc...
She returned to the scene immediately.
The party she hit was injured, not badly but it is still considered a 3rd degree felony since the other party suffered injuries and she technically left the scene. She was arrested at the accident site and not off site (no manhunt involved, family members called her and informed her to return and she did).

Person A was charged with the following:
careless driving
failure to prove insurance (which person A claims is BS, they never asked her for paperwork)
Leaving scene without giving information more than $50 damage '316.061(1)'
Leaving scene without rendering aid involving injury '316.027(1)(a)'

The part that gets complicated is when the cops first arrived, they were concerned about the infants which were check first, and when the officer went to check the other carfor injuries he claimed no one was in it at first. Only after about 30 minutes he went to the other car once more and discovered a woman laying reclined back (probably in shock and probably why no one saw her) and in a sense made it difficult to tell that someone needed aid to begin with, even for person A who was not allowed to leave the car and had near zero visibility due to heavy rain how could she have rendered aid to the woman, by leaving her car with two children etc... etc... it is a very complicated situation.


What are person A's best options at this point to avoid any harsh sentencing. She did not leave the scene out of malice or trying to run from the cops, she was worried about her kids (she sat there for 40 minutes in a hot car with children and NO HELP) and in her mind she felt she needed to drop the kids off somewhere safer then a rainy highway.

Will a judge be sympathetic for person A? What can she expect at her first trial if a lawyer represents her?

Thank you

[souperdave]

There are so many holes and inconsistencies in this story I hardly can find a part to begin with.

Heavy traffic on a main highway leads me to believe that this occurred in an urban area. With this in mind I find the "about 30 minutes elapse until the time the collision takes place until paramedics arrive" part lacks a little credibility. Especially when later it's stated "she sat there for 40 minutes in a hot car". How hot can a car be when it is "pouring raining and cloudy"?

But the main point of confusion for me is: "Person A begins to drive away with concern that her children are either hungry, scared, crying etc... She drops them off at a friends house to be watched." But, "The part that gets complicated is when the cops first arrived, they were concerned about the infants which were check first".

Am I missing something or are the children, you know, the ones dropped at a friends, now suddenly back at the scene of the accident? Then an officer, or paramedics (we may never truly know) are so incompetent that they cannot locate a "woman laying reclined back" until they check again "Only after about 30 minutes"!

It would appear that the no insurance charge is at issue, along with leaving the scene of an injury accident.

You are in deep doo-doo and need to secure significantly competent legal assistance to help you shovel your way outta this mess.

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She was afraid for her childrens safety and panicked, so she felt the best thing to do was take them home and not leave them in the rain/hungry etc...

So exactly where were the kids? At a friends, at home, or at the scene of the accident when you returned?

Inquiring minds want to know.

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Here's a novel idea for ya! Why don't you pose this scenario to your "current lawyer"? You know, the lawyer you posted about last month!

http://www.expertlaw.com/forums/show...ht=#post615497

Ya know, maintaining a semi-credible timeline is sorta integral to attempting to get anyone to believe a story. Especially one like this! But you make it easy when you can't even keep track of your own muddled (I'm thinking TOTALLY FABRICATED!) mess!

[PTPD22]

LOL. Ok. So, from the prior post pointed out by souperdave, we have this quote:

I have no background in law whatsoever.

Now, from this post, we have this quote from OP (who sure seems to be "Person A"):

Person A has zero criminal history and even in fact works in the legal field (not a lawyer but has experience a as a paralegal),

Does anyone see any billy goats trying to cross a bridge? Because I sure think I smell a troll.

[DBFIU]

Hey guys, sorry if the story isnt clear cut. It happened very recently, I assure you I am not a troll. The first thread I posted a month ago was regarding a rearending that was directly associated with me.

This story with person A is not me, it is a completely different situation that occured to someone else that IS NOT me. I am asking this question on behalf of them because they dont know what to do. I was not at the accident nor was I even there after the accident, I am only trying to get the information I can to help get a better idea of what we are looking at as far as penalties.

I am not a paralegal, I have no experience in law and person A is not me if inquiring minds want to know.

In any case, the story I gave you IN THIS THREAD is not the same accident that occured in my PREVIOUS thread.

This thread is dealing with person A whom is not me and has no background in criminal activity.


Let's recap.

If you've ever lived in florida you will know that a closed car in a rainstorm can get hot inside, very fast even in the clouds. Seems you have no experienced that, ever.

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But the main point of confusion for me is: "Person A begins to drive away with concern that her children are either hungry, scared, crying etc... She drops them off at a friends house to be watched." But, "The part that gets complicated is when the cops first arrived, they were concerned about the infants which were check first".

Am I missing something or are the children, you know, the ones dropped at a friends, now suddenly back at the scene of the accident? Then an officer, or paramedics (we may never truly know) are so incompetent that they cannot locate a "woman laying reclined back" until they check again "Only after about 30 minutes"!

Children were not returned to the scene of the accident, they were left in the hands of a neighbor to watch while person A returned to the scene.

Let me make this clear once more, I was not at the accident so if the times dont add up then youll have to excuse me. I am going by approximations on my part (piecing the story together myself).

Since you guys are set on labeling me as a troll, I have nothing else really to other than the quick story.

Person gets in accident, leaves scene for a short amount of time and returns. Given the circumstances that the person was worried about the children sitting in a car for too long, what can she do if she has no criminal record?

Does that make sense?

[souperdave]

Leaving the scene of an accident is a criminal offense. Whether you, or rather "Person A" returned or not, they left! And it appears "Person A" is uninsured.

By the way, I lived in Tampa for seven years after I got out of the USAF.........if the afternoon storms do anything, they COOL THINGS OFF!!!

Having outside jobs the majority of the time, I looked forward to the afternoon boomers for heat relief.

[DBFIU]

Leaving the scene of an accident is a criminal offense. Whether you, or rather "Person A" returned or not, they left! And it appears "Person A" is uninsured.

By the way, I lived in Tampa for seven years after I got out of the USAF.........if the afternoon storms do anything, they COOL THINGS OFF!!!

Having outside jobs the majority of the time, I looked forward to the afternoon boomers for heat relief.

Person A was insured, she had the proof with her but the cop didnt ask for it and just wrote a ticket for no proof of insurance. The car was financed and has full coverage, so thats not an issue.

Next time there is a rainstorm in florida in the summer in june, sit in your car with the windows up for 30 minutes. Dont stand outside in the rain and get wet and then go in your car, try and explain that to a 2 year old. I am not going to argue about what is apparently hot and what isnt, children were uncomfortable, a mother acted on instinct albiet against the law and this is the result. What can she do about it?

[souperdave]

..........a mother acted on instinct albiet against the law and this is the result. What can she do about it?

Tell "Person A" that using this excuse in court is probably not gona fly too far, especially in an injury accident.

As far as the insurance charge, all they hafta do is show proof that there was insurance coverage on the vehicle at the time of the accident to possibly get that part of it reduced/removed.

Maybe someday you/Person A will realize that regardless of what took place in your vehicle after the accident is very much moot if it did not involve any sort of emergency, either relative to the accident or not. Leaving the scene is a serious offense. Leaving the scene of an injury accident ramps up the seriousness.

The 'child welfare' excuse will have little or no bearing during the trial, if it's carried as far as a trial.

[PandorasBox]

She can't open the window due to rain. How about Air conditioning? Or cracking the windows.

Why could she not tend to the children? That should be her first concern....

Fact is: She left the scene of an accident. Period.

I find it hard to believe 30-40 minutes response time. It probably seems like it (kinda like a trip to the dentist seems like an eternity).