leaving the scene?

Question

Last week I posted a question regarding an aqantance of mine. Who I barely speak to. She was just over and told me that she was being charged with leaving the scene of an accident. She says odds are its just a fine. Is she in for a rude awaking when she goes to court on the 7th for this charge? If you didnt read my last question there was alcohol in the car which the police never proved belonged or if in fact she had drank before driving {i personally dont know if she did or not}.They hit a patch of ice, as they spun on the ice they hit a curb then a snow bank which caused the car to flip 2 times totaling the car. Everyone got out of the car no injuries other then a bloody nose on her part. She found out today she'll get a leaving the scene charge. Is this just a ticket or is their jail time involved? Yeah Im nosey, no other cars were involved it was 17 miles outside of town, no one was around to see the accident and no one required any medical attention. We live in ND and dont say:

"it varies from state to state" I am asking in general

NO idiot it wasnt me stop being stupid.

People I said acquaintance not friend. And if you are not educated in these matters leave your opinions to yourself. It wasnt me, its not someone I hang around with, it wasnt a family member it was an acquaintance who comes over on occassion to run her mouth or play with my 8 month old son. She has never drank around me or did me wrong but I would not consider her a friend.

I just read your post. The night it happened they had called my house looking for her because her cell was left at the scene and they were trying to locate her. They mentioned the alcohol but there were 4 other people in the car and there was no proof it was even open prior to the accident it was in glass bottles that shattered so no alcohol charges are involved. In Tx its against the law to have an open container too but like I said it was broken bottles and no one in the accident ever had alcohol in their blood when they were tested..the next day lol

This is my final edit I promise. If you've ever been to ND you know that it is mostly rural and sucks. You have to drive atleast 80-100 miles between major cities and usually 40 miles or more just from town to town. Where the accident occured was outside of town no damage to any fixtures as ND does not light its highways not even in cities only damage was the car no injuries to persons. Ty for your opinions

Answer 1

I am no North Dakota expert, but I have looked at the code. If, as you say, no other vehicle was involved, and there were no injuries, then the only applicable statutes in North Dakota would seem to be

39-08-08, which requires that a driver involved in an accident that damages highway fixtures has to try to notify the owner and has to report the accident.

or

39-08-09, which requires that a driver involved in any accident causing more than $1,000 property damage (which seems to include the driver's own car) has to immeidately give notice to the local police.

I cannot locate the punishment statute for these offenses, and it is hard to say there is any "general rule" because statutes like this are not very common. It looks like a pretty minor offense to me, and I would doubt that jail time is involved.

Answer 2

Someone I know rolled off the freeway into a pit and walked away. They vdidn't injure anyone and didn't break anything other than their own car. All they got was a fine. BUT there was no alcohol involved. Here in CA, it is illegal to have an unsealed bottle of alcohol in the passenger part of your car. They don't need to prove who drunk it or who it belonged to. It is against the law to even carry it. And that one is a big deal kind of stuff.

Answer 3

mostly just community service and a fine.

Answer 4

I hope you have more friends because this one is going to jail.