What is the fine for leaving the scene of an accident? I think Im being wrongfully cited!?

Question

I'm in NY State...I was recently very minorly side swiped by a car that was angry because I cut them off. They swerved into my lane and very very minorly scrathed my driver side mirror. They darted ahead of me and stopped the car. A man got out and started approaching my car. Fealing threatened, I sped off and decided to drive home to get a safe distance away. 5-10 minutes later a cop showed up asking me about the situation. I explained it and he said it wasnt even worth writing up, but I did give him my insurance info. A few hours later, I got a call from an officer saying that I am being cited for leaving the scene of an accident becuase I didn't call the cops soon enough if i felt threatened...what should I do now? Should I wait until my court date to explain this? should I file a report now? Any help please?

Answer 1

Contest the fine and argue it before a judge.
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Answer 2

Well, considering I'd be prosecuting you, I'll limit my comments to the following:

1) Charging you with a violation of VTL Section 600.1 carries a fine of $250 or imprisonment up to 15 days. It is not a criminal conviction unless someone was injured, which would lead to an upgraded 600.2 charge.
2) The police cannot prosecute you based on your comment alone that you were in a motor vehicle accident. That means that the other driver reported it and is having the charges filed against you. Additionally, your comments and acknowledgment of being in the accident can be used against you at trial. So basically, telling the judge and ADA in the court room that you weren't there or didn't do it will just **** them off. Trust ME.
3) Usually these cases settle out after you pay any restitution for the damage to his car and maybe perform about 21-35 hours of community service. Ideally, you will receive an ACD (Adjournment in Contemplation of Dismissal), which has no fines or conviction entered on your record.
4) Get an attorney and work it out. Like I said, these are minor charges and it'll likely cost you more for the attorney than it will for the fines.
5) Filing a report after the incident took place and after the cops have charged you is worthless. As an ADA, I would view it as a worthless piece of paper filed by a defendant who is desperate to not be in trouble.
6)Anyone who tells you to file the report doesn't know the system. If you have a witness who was in the car and who will sign a statement to the account of the accident and that it was the other driver's fault, that may help you. But please understand that right now your word is worthless as a defendant.

I'm also adding that you were correctly charged with LSA, since you did not report to a police officer or call 911 after you "escaped the scene" of the accident. That's the requirement under the law, even if there are minimal damages. Any damage must be reported.
Good luck and next time, dial 911.

Answer 3

Yes, file a report with the cops (you've certainly waited long enough). A friend of mine here in N.Y. had a similar problem when she was parked at the supermarket, and a truck driver backed into her (she was improperly parked in a loading area, but the accident was deemed to be his fault and his company ended up paying for her damages). The trucker flew off the handle and started screaming at her, and she felt threatened and drove off directly to the nearest police precinct. She was afraid of getting cited for leaving the scene of the accident, but after explaining her situation to the cops (and after they had a word with the trucker and a supermarket employee who witnessed the incident) they basically told her the following:

It is considered permissible for a motorist to leave the scene of an accident IF he is being physically threatened or has some valid reason to believe his safety would be in danger if he stayed in the immediate area. HOWEVER, the motorist must contact the police immediately after he's out of danger.

It looks like that last part was what you failed to do, so the cop had no choice but send you to court to sort things out. But from what you say, it certainly looks like that other driver was menacing you so I think you still might have a chance of getting the charge dismissed.
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Answer 4

File a report now, making it clear that you felt you were in a road rage situation. Explain that the person was angry about you cutting them off, and you felt threatened when they approached your car--they could have still been angry and intended to do more damage, or injure you, rather than exchange insurance info. Then bring the report and state your case in court. See if you can get the name of the cop who said it wasn't worth writing up.

Answer 5

what are you 9 come on that's is not a good reason to leave the scene, always remember justice is blind and you technically did leave the scene of the accident and failed to report a accident