I Am Charged with Hit and Run while Driving Under the Influence (CVC 20001-20002)
You are intoxicated after consuming several cocktails during the “happy hour” at your favorite restaurant. While driving home, the driver ahead of you brakes abruptly and causes you to rear-end his vehicle. You realize that you are intoxicated and fear the eventual consequences, so you decide to continue driving without first pulling over. Now you are being charged with a hit and run while driving under the influence. You need to contact an experienced Wallin & Klarich DUI hit and run defense attorney immediately to assist you with this serious matter.
Prosecution of a Hit and Run Charge
To establish the elements of a “hit and run” charge, the prosecution must prove the following three things:
- You were actually involved in a vehicular accident while driving
- The vehicular accident caused the death or permanent serious injury of someone else; AND
- You knew that you had been involved in an accident that injured another person or knew that it was probable that another person had been injured based on the nature of the accident
The prosecution also carries the evidentiary burden of proving that you failed to comply with the following three legal duties:
- Stop at the scene of the accident
- Provide reasonable assistance to any injured person in the accident; AND
- Provide the other driver, any passengers, and any police officers at the scene of the accident with your name, current residential address, and vehicle registration number
If the hit and run did not result in death or bodily harm, you may still be liable for any property damage resulting from your actions. The prosecution must prove the following elements:
- You were actually involved in a vehicular accident while driving
- The accident caused damage to someone else’s property
- You knew that you had been involved in an accident that caused property damage or knew that there was a probability of property damage based on the nature of the accident; AND
- You willfully failed to stop at the scene of the accident and provide your name, current residential address, and vehicle registration number to the owner or a police officer
Defenses to a Hit and Run Charge
The skilled California hit and run attorneys at Wallin & Klarich have over 30 years of experience successfully defending clients charged with a hit and run while driving under the influence. Our attorneys can help you raise a number of defenses to help you win your hit and run case. Below are a few examples.
No Knowledge of Property Damage
If you were unaware that any property damaged resulted from the accident, you may have a valid defense to a hit and run charge under CVC 20002.
No Death or Serious Injury
If death or serious permanent injury did not result from the accident, then you are not liable under CVC 20001. You may still be liable under CVC 20002 if property damage resulted from the accident.
No Opportunity to Give Reasonable Assistance
For instance, if you were rendered unconscious from the accident, then you would not have an opportunity to provide reasonable assistance. Therefore, you may not be guilty of a hit and run.
California DUI Attorney
The experienced California DUI attorneys at Wallin & Klarich have been successfully defending clients charged with DUI hit and run for over 30 years. Due to our decades of experience, we can help you raise any legal defense to an accusation of DUI hit and run. We will aggressively defend you from the first day you retain our office to help you stay out of jail. When you are accused of a hit and run while driving under the influence, there is too much at stake to entrust your legal representation to anyone other than an experienced Wallin & Klarich DUI defense attorney.
Our offices are located in Orange County, Los Angeles, San Diego, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura, West Covina, Victorville, Torrance, and Sherman Oaks. Give us a call today at (877) 4-NO-JAIL or (877) 466-5245. We will get through this together.