I Was Drunk and Hit a Vehicle. I Fled the Scene. Can I Still Get Charged With a DUI?
To put it simply, it all hinges on whether or not you’ve been “caught” under the influence. The prosecutor must prove that you were involved in the accident, were aware of the accident, willingly refused to perform your legal duties, and were under the influence of drugs or alcohol in order to prosecute you for a DUI hit and run. When an officer responds to a collision, he or she may be able to find and detain the alleged hit-and-run driver swiftly.
If a driver drives away from a collision scene or merely walks away, they may be prosecuted with hit and run. To put it simply, it all hinges on whether or not you’ve been “caught” under the influence. The prosecutor must prove that you were involved in the accident, were aware of the accident, willingly refused to perform your legal duties, and were under the influence of drugs or alcohol in order to prosecute you for a DUI hit and run. When an officer responds to a collision, he or she may be able to find and detain the alleged hit-and-run driver swiftly.
If a driver drives away from a collision scene or merely walks away, they may be prosecuted with hit and run. It’s not uncommon to hear that drivers fled the scene of a car collision for fear of getting charged with DUI. A hit-and-run violation and a DUI are two separate charges that can result in fines and jail time in California courts. In other words, a hit-and-run will be punished with additional charges in addition to the penalties for a DUI.
The driver has specific responsibilities if a car collision causes property damage, injury, or death. These responsibilities include staying on the scene, delivering information, and supporting anyone who has been hurt. In most hit-and-run cases, the driver departs the scene of an accident without providing any information in order to avoid the repercussions of being found guilty of causing the accident. Hit-and-run drivers may be uninsured or unwilling to have their insurance costs raised.
Some of the same reasons may be at play in DUI hit-and-run offenses. However, drunk drivers may try to flee the scene of an accident in order to avoid getting breath tested and/or arrested for DUI. It’s also possible that the motorist was so inebriated that he or she just didn’t notice the collision. In such circumstances, a driver who flees the scene of an accident and is apprehended will almost certainly be charged with DUI and hit-and-run, and if convicted, will incur consequences for both charges.
When a person is convicted of a crime, the judge usually has some leeway in determining the appropriate sentence (within a legal range). A second DUI, for example, might result in up to a year in prison, but judges rarely give the maximum sentence. Judges often examine a number of criteria when sentencing a person for DUI, such as whether the incident involves an accident, injuries, or other aggravating circumstances. The fact that a DUI resulted in a hit-and-run accident (or vice versa) won’t help the criminal get a lighter sentence. The judge is likely to increase the penalty for both infractions.
