Virginia law imposes certain duties and responsibilities on all passengers and drivers to report any accidents. Failure to report the accident leads to serious criminal sentence. The obligation of a driver under Virginia law includes:
- Stop your car as close to the accident scene as possible but without obstructing the traffic.
- Report to the police any injuries, your name address, license number, registration number to the state police or local law enforcement agency. You also need to report the names of individual in other vehicle.
- Deliver a reasonable assistance to any person who is injured as a result of accident by taking the injured to the hospital, physician or doctor if it appears medically necessary.
- If your injuries prevent the compliance with any of the above mentions, you make the require report to the police locate the driver, custodian of damaged vehicle and report your name, address, license number, and vehicle registration number. If you report the accident after waiting a weak would be unreasonable under this law.
- In case you hit a parked vehicle, or any unattended property, you need to use a reasonable effort to find the owner of the property and if cannot, then leave a note with your contact number and report this incident to the police within 24 hours. Hit and run of a parked car will become criminal offense if these rules are not followed accurately.
If you have been accused of hit and run in Warren Virginia you need to contact hit and run lawyer immediately. The investigations of hit and run are often done via home visits, phone calls email and requires for interview at police station.
Hit and Run penalties in Warren, Virginia
There are several types of penalties for hit and run in Warren, Virginia for a driver or passenger who leave the scene of an accident. The most serious penalties are:
Class 5 Felony– in this charge the driver will be punishable by 10 years in prison. In case the vehicle was unattended, and there was a death or more than $1,000. A passenger who did not report the accident will be punishable by 5 years in jail and Class 6 felony.
Class 1 Misdemeanor– this conviction includes the punishment of 1 years in jail if the property was unattended and there was a damage less than $1,000 and if the property was unattended and there was a damage between $250-$1,000. A passenger who did not report the accident the police will face a punishment of 5 years in jail.
Class 4 Misdemeanor- in such conviction the driver will face the punishment of fine if the property was unattended and there was a damage less than $250. A passenger who did not report this accident to the police will be punished the same as driver.
A Warren Virginia hit and run lawyer can help you to fight to keep your driving license from being suspended. A lawyer can also help lessen the consequences you’re facing by disagreeing to have the penalties reduced or to have any possible jail sentence reduced or avoided overall.