If I am in a car accident and the other person approaches me to beat me up?

Question

If the person is approaching me in this way and I fear for my safety, and don't have a cell phone, am I allowed to leave the scene and drive to a safe place so I can call 911. Or would I be charged with leaving the scene of an accident.

Answer 1

In the USA, you have the constitutional right to protect yourself. If you are absolutely certain the other person is approaching to beat you up, such as stating, "I'm going to kick your ***," then you have every right to leave the scene and call 911 from a safe location.

Besides, it is better to risk facing a minor charge than to be possibly killed.

Answer 2

I think I'm sort of summarizing some of the content in other answers. The law does take into account extenuating circumstances in this kind of event. A person gets into a (probably minor) traffic accident and stops. If things were to have progressed in a civil fashion at this point, you would have stayed, exchanged required information, and fulfilled all the requirements under law. But if the other driver becomes hostile, aggressive, displays a behavior that would make any reasonable person believe that they may be the victim of an assault, it makes good sense to leave and leave fast - you are not fleeing the accident, but trying to escape being an assault victim (or worse).

Here's the critical time period though. You'll be in good shape if you either go to a nearby phone, or drive straight home, and then call the police to report the accident "and" how the other driver was acting. Say it on the phone - it's a recorded line - so no reason to hold back in expressing your fear. Fear is a good excuse.

The thing you don't want to do is to wait til the next day or wait until the other driver has ample time to call the police, then the police show up at your door 'before' you ever pick up the phone to make your own call. Just tell the truth.

Answer 3

Depending on where you are, if you are on a busy street, I would leave the car and everything as is and go to the nearest open business.... gas station, car wash, anywhere that is well-lit and open. If dude comes after you, start screaming, "Fire! There's a fire over here!" That gets people's attention quicker than screaming help or stop.

Again, I would leave the car where it is. Unless, you are out in the middle of nowhere. Another idea if you don't have a cell phone: get one of those Trac Phones for like forty bucks at WalMart and don't put any time on it. Leave it powered off and in your glove box. All cell phones now are equipped with GPS and even though it doesn't have a phone number or minutes on it, you can still call 911 free of charge. If you are really scared, tell them immediately your name, age, where you are, what you're wearing, and a brief description of the assailant (about 6' white male with brown hair jeans and a green tee shirt). Also, store only ONE phone number in that Trac Phone and label it "ICE." This means "in case of emergency." Most emergency personnel know what this means and they will contact that person for you.

I hope this never happens to anyone, but if it does, best of luck.

Answer 4

The person is approaching you because he suspects you of road rage or reckless driving. Therefore, if you leave the scene and an officer arrives, you would most certainly be cited for leaving the scene of an accident because the other driver would no doubt remain to tell the officer what he/she had observed you doing in your car. Best bet is to stay put, roll up the windows and wait for a police officer to arrive. Of course, if danger dictates and there is not time to get in and roll up windows or lock doors, you should preserve yourself and get away. If this happens however, be prepared to explain why you left the scene. You hope in this kind of a situation that there are witnesses so it won't come down to your word versus his. Hope this helps!

Answer 5

IF you truly feared for your safety, and as long as you reported the accident at the earliest time as well as being able to convince the police or the courts of this, you should be fine. If the laws are very strict on leaving the scene, you may be guilty, but guilty with a reasonable explanation which is a lot better than if you had been guilty for any other reason.

Answer 6

this situation happened to my sister. She high-tailed it out of there and found a phone in a very populated area and called 911. the police had no problem with her leaving the scene of the accident.

Answer 7

Just say you were under duress, and it was necessity for you to leave. Thinking it was the smart thing to do, and for your safety. Also you drive to a police station after to. Maybe. But why would you be in an accident?

Answer 8

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Answer 9

This just happenned to a friend of mine. The guy knocked his wife down & he beat his butt, then the cops tried to charge him with assult for proctecting himself & his wife even though he placed the 911 call. He knew one of the cops & it got dropped but otherwise he'd be in deep.

Answer 10

Here in Florida they have a law about if your on the road and someone makes you fear for your life you are allowed to shoot them......... (that is if you have a gun of course...)