I hit a pedestrian and fled the scene.

M

MatthewPark

New Member
Jurisdiction
California
There is this busy road in San Francisco. I had the green light when some lady crossed the road.

Instead of stopping, she tried to run across the road.

I ended up hitting her.

I wasn't speeding either.

I panicked and I fled the scene, but I saw some guy take a picture of my plate.

But it gets more complicated. I reside in a different county, and the car is still registered under the old owner's name. This owner is also in a different county.

I tried the calling the old owner, but he never returned my calls.

I also called an attorney. He told me not to file a police report now because they will arrest me. He went on to say wait for the police to question me.

So how long will this take?

I'm homeless and most of the time I sleep on a park bench in Berkeley.
 
Zigner said:
I'd also suggest NOT blabbing about your crime(s) all over the internet.
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Au contaire! In the interest of justice, I hope that OP blabs in multiple places on the internet, preferably on public forums, especially using a selfie as a profile photo and their real name. The more details the better. It makes the job of the DA easier.
 
Red Kayak said:
Au contaire! In the interest of justice, I hope that OP blabs in multiple places on the internet, preferably on public forums, especially using a selfie as a profile photo and their real name. The more details the better. It makes the job of the DA easier.
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Well, yeah, there's that too ;)
 
Red Kayak said:
Au contaire! In the interest of justice, I hope that OP blabs in multiple places on the internet, preferably on public forums, especially using a selfie as a profile photo and their real name. The more details the better. It makes the job of the DA easier.
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Most excellent point!
 
MatthewPark said:
There is this busy road in San Francisco. I had the green light when some lady crossed the road.

Instead of stopping, she tried to run across the road.

I ended up hitting her.

I wasn't speeding either.

I panicked and I fled the scene, but I saw some guy take a picture of my plate.

But it gets more complicated. I reside in a different county, and the car is still registered under the old owner's name. This owner is also in a different county.

I tried the calling the old owner, but he never returned my calls.

I also called an attorney. He told me not to file a police report now because they will arrest me. He went on to say wait for the police to question me.

So how long will this take?

I'm homeless and most of the time I sleep on a park bench in Berkeley.
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Have you inquired after the wellbeing of the woman you struck? Is she in the hospital? Dead? Do you even care?
 
MatthewPark said:
But it gets more complicated. I reside in a different county, and the car is still registered under the old owner's name. This owner is also in a different county.
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If you're a citizen of a sovereign nation,, other than the USA; it becomes easier for you to return to your country from which you derive your citizenship.

Someone may have captured the image of the ALLEGEDLY vehicle, but I doubt the photo shows you so clearly such that you could be picked correctly in a lineup as the "perp".

It might be easier for you to simply disappear into the masses of your of birth, than face prison time in the USA.


MatthewPark said:
So how long will this take?
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I suspect you could be seated on a airplane flying at 35,000 feet, zooming along about 550 mph returning to your native homeland within the next 24-48 hours, maybe sooner!!!
 
army judge said:
If you're a citizen of a sovereign nation,, other than the USA; it becomes easier for you to return to your country from which you derive your citizenship.

Someone may have captured the image of the ALLEGEDLY vehicle, but I doubt the photo shows you so clearly such that you could be picked correctly in a lineup as the "perp".

It might be easier for you to simply disappear into the masses of your of birth, than face prison time in the USA.



I suspect you could be seated on a airplane flying at 35,000 feet, zooming along about 550 mph returning to your native homeland within the next 24-48 hours, maybe sooner!!!
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Different county, not country.

Crime in San Francisco county, OP undomiciled in Alameda county, car registered wherever, because OP hasn't registered the car in their name since acquiring it. But it's all in California.
 
adjusterjack said:
Bad advice.

You are less likely to get arrested if you turn yourself in. If the police have to hunt for you they won't be kind when they catch you.
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The problem with your advice is (1) turning himself in may potentially be used as evidence against her and (2) if the police never catch up to him she may avoid arrest altogether. Note that upon turning himself in he likely will be arrested. The advantage of turning yourself in is that you get to do it at a time you choose rather than running into the cops at some time that is horrible for you (e.g. missing a job interview, funeral, etc) and being arrested then.

OP: Note that given your description of the accident you might have avoided being at fault altogether had you stayed after hitting her as state law requires you to do. By running you've just made it much worse. In the future if you are in a similar situation, you probably should stay put and not flee the scene.

You need to consult a lawyer ASAP. As you are homeless you may be eligible for help from legal aid, a law school near you, or perhaps some organization that helps people get legal services when they can't afford it

At the very least I'd expect your license to get suspended as a result of the leaving the scene of the accident. If you were negligent and thus at fault in the accident, you may end up being sued for the medical bills and pain and suffering that the victim endured. I hope you had sufficient liability insurance to pay for that. If you have insurance contact your insurance company ASAP to ensure that it will pay out any damages you owe (up to the policy limit).
 
Tax Counsel said:
OP: Note that given your description of the accident you might have avoided being at fault altogether had you stayed after hitting her as state law requires you to do. By running you've just made it much worse. In the future if you are in a similar situation, you probably should stay put and not flee the scene.
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OP may have been concerned about not having registered the car in their name.

Which also might mean no insurance or valid inspection.
 
I suspect the OP also has warrants.

In any case, the cops will contact the owner of the vehicle and the owner will quickly give over any info he has about the buyer of the car.
 
Tax Counsel said:
The problem with your advice is (1) turning himself in may potentially be used as evidence against her and (2) if the police never catch up to him she may avoid arrest altogether. Note that upon turning himself in he likely will be arrested. The advantage of turning yourself in is that you get to do it at a time you choose rather than running into the cops at some time that is horrible for you (e.g. missing a job interview, funeral, etc) and being arrested then.

OP: Note that given your description of the accident you might have avoided being at fault altogether had you stayed after hitting her as state law requires you to do. By running you've just made it much worse. In the future if you are in a similar situation, you probably should stay put and not flee the scene.

You need to consult a lawyer ASAP. As you are homeless you may be eligible for help from legal aid, a law school near you, or perhaps some organization that helps people get legal services when they can't afford it

At the very least I'd expect your license to get suspended as a result of the leaving the scene of the accident. If you were negligent and thus at fault in the accident, you may end up being sued for the medical bills and pain and suffering that the victim endured. I hope you had sufficient liability insurance to pay for that. If you have insurance contact your insurance company ASAP to ensure that it will pay out any damages you owe (up to the policy lim
Click to expand...

Tax Counsel said:
The problem with your advice is (1) turning himself in may potentially be used as evidence against her and (2) if the police never catch up to him she may avoid arrest altogether. Note that upon turning himself in he likely will be arrested. The advantage of turning yourself in is that you get to do it at a time you choose rather than running into the cops at some time that is horrible for you (e.g. missing a job interview, funeral, etc) and being arrested then.

OP: Note that given your description of the accident you might have avoided being at fault altogether had you stayed after hitting her as state law requires you to do. By running you've just made it much worse. In the future if you are in a similar situation, you probably should stay put and not flee the scene.

You need to consult a lawyer ASAP. As you are homeless you may be eligible for help from legal aid, a law school near you, or perhaps some organization that helps people get legal services when they can't afford it

At the very least I'd expect your license to get suspended as a result of the leaving the scene of the accident. If you were negligent and thus at fault in the accident, you may end up being sued for the medical bills and pain and suffering that the victim endured. I hope you had sufficient liability insurance to pay for that. If you have insurance contact your insurance company ASAP to ensure that it will pay out any damages you owe (up to the policy limit).
Click to expand...

Red Kayak said:
OP may have been concerned about not having registered the car in their name.

Which also might mean no insurance or valid inspection.
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I have insurance.
 

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