I had a buddy that was in an accident on saturday night and now know a little bit more about what happened. He was drinking and clipped a car that was parked on the curb of a red light intersection. He says he didnt know he hit them so he kept driving, and the dude turned out to be an off duty police officer. The guy chased him down, stopped him and called the cops and told them he hit and run. They were gonna charge him with felony hit and run and dwi, but the guy had a change of heart (thank god) and said he did'nt want him to go to jail. They said they did not write anything up except an accident report, no warnings, tickets or anything. Only thing they did was write he had been drinking on the report and that he had to tell his insurance company he had been drinking. He is just wondering if for some reason this can all be changed if he changes his mind and wants to press charges? Can he if they did not cite him a violation or document it at all?
2007-10-22 10:24:14 · 2 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
Here in texas
2007-10-22 10:33:20 · update #1
He has already contacted his insurance and they said they will contact the driver he hit and pay for everything. Also how does the prosecutor know that he was drunk if there was no proof and he passed a field sobriety?
2007-10-22 10:52:27 · update #2
since there are no citations, then this will not reach the prosecutor's office. and if the prosecutor doesn't see it, then no charges can be filed. he should be okay. not sure about other states, but in this one if a citation is not written at the time of the accident, then the deal is done. you should check your state's website for laws/statutes and see if this is the case in your state. they're easy to find and surprisingly easy to read/interpret. otherwise, looks like he's alright.
2007-10-22 10:31:02 · answer #1 · answered by Heather Honey 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Yes -- the prosecutor can always come back and charge with DWI/DUI for the event -- and the guy who was hit can always file a lawsuit for the damages.
Statutes of limitations apply to both actions -- but they would normally be measured in years, not days or weeks -- so, anytime until the statute runs out, they can come back at him.
2007-10-22 10:48:17 · answer #2 · answered by coragryph 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋