Our client was returning to his office after a lunch break when he got into a small bumper to bumper accident with the vehicle in front of him. When he got out of his vehicle to make contact with the other driver, the other driver refused to speak with him while she was on phone with police. Our client attempted to have the other driver meet him in a parking lot down the road from the accident scene so he could get back to his office on time but the other driver refused to move. Our client left the scene to go to his office without exchanging all required information with the other driver. Police responded to the scene and started working the accident. Our client then returned to the scene after checking in at work. The officer cited our client with a criminal charge for Leaving the Scene of an Accident without properly exchanging information. Upon the outset, we noted the property damage estimate listed in the accident report and on the citation indicated a total damage amount of $0. We then requested and received a copy of the 911 call from the other driver, where our client can be heard explaining to the other driver where he worked, how close it was, and asking her to follow him there. Based on the circumstances we argued with the State that since there were no injuries, no property damage, and our client returned to the scene – there was no basis to file a criminal charge. The State agreed and dropped the criminal charge.
DUI & Criminal Division
