Got In An Accident And Drove Away? What Should You Do?
You get in a car accident. It wasn't your fault! Maybe you didn't have insurance or you are afraid of the confrontation with the other driver. You mistakenly decide to drive away. Will you be arrested? What should you do?
First, DONT DRIVE AWAY! The best away to avoid making a bad situation worse is to not leave the scene of the car accident. If the other driver or passengers were injured, that could result in a hit and run criminal charge, a felony. If there were no injuries but damage to the car, you could be looking at failure to stop at an accident involving damage, a misdemeanor crime.
If you did drive away, it is likely you will receive a letter from a police agency saying that your vehicle was involved in an accident. They will urge you to respond to a detective and give your side of the story. Be careful in your decision. If you call the police agency, they will try to have you confess to being the driver of the car and failing to stop. Remember, everything you say can and will be used against you in court. Don't be deceived to believe that you can share your story and they will drop the case. The police are trained to make you feel at ease and use your statements against you to obtain a warrant.
You may also receive a phone call from a detective. If you get a call from a detective, do not be deceived regarding the conversation. The detective is not on your side. If any information you provide can be interpreted as a confession, it will be used as such.
If you choose to exercise your 6th Amendment Right to Counsel and your 5th Amendment Right to Remain Silent, your criminal attorney can immediately get involved and call the detective and/or respond to the letter from the police agency. The moment your criminal lawyer informs the police that you have counsel, they are not allowed under the law to attempt to contact or interrogate you. You need a firewall between you and the police. The reality is this - the police either already have enough evidence against you or they do not. If they do, no amount of information you share will change their mind regarding an arrest warrant. If they do not, you do not want to give any information that could be use against you to obtain an arrest warrant.
Remember, everything you say can be used against you! However, everything your criminal lawyer says can NOT be used against because your criminal attorney's comments are hearsay and inadmissible!
What if you learn there is already a warrant for your arrest for hit and run or failure to stop at an accident? In this situation, you have 2 choices: turn yourself in without the help of an attorney or work with a lawyer to assist in this process.
The risk of turning yourself in without the help of a criminal lawyer is that you will not know if what the detective is telling you is true. Remember, police do not have a legal responsibility to tell you the truth. If the police tell you to turn yourself in at the wrong jail, you could be stuck in custody for longer than necessary. Additionally, you will need to find a reputable bondsman that will charge you fairly to help you post a bond when you enter the jail facility.
If you choose to work with a criminal lawyer, the attorney can determine the exact location to turn yourself and also see if it is possible to avoid jail by doing a walk-through at the jail. If turning yourself in is mandatory, your criminal lawyer can help you work with a reputable bondsman to ensure you are treated fairly or post the bond for you if you the criminal law firm has surety with your county.
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00:00 What To Do If You Got In An Accident In Texas
00:52 First Thing To Do If Got In An Accident
01:44 What Happens If You Leave After Having An Accident
02:50 What Should You Do If You Received A Letter From The Police?
04:08 What To Do If A Detective Asks You To Meet?
04:42 What If You Already Have A Warrant?