Our client was driving a rental truck commonly used for moving in the parking lot of a busy retail store. Hours after leaving the store, a member of the Florida Highway Patrol arrived at his residence to investigate an allegation that he hit a vehicle in the parking lot and left without exchanging information. The Trooper cited him with a criminal offense and a careless driving ticket. Our client hired us and before we got to court, we were able to request and gain access to the video camera footage from the retail store showing the alleged accident. The high quality video surveillance showed our client’s entire driving pattern in the parking lot and at no point could an actual “accident” or “crash” be viewed. We argued first that our client never actually hit any vehicle and in the alternative that if he did, he did not know he hit any vehicle and therefore could not be charged with leaving the scene of an accident he never knew he was in. After reviewing the video, the State Attorney agreed and dismissed the criminal charge against our client and the Court dismissed the careless driving charge.
DUI & Criminal Division
