Source: https://www.markshermanlaw.com/fighting-norwalk-connecticut-evading-responsibility-hit-run-3.html
Timestamp: 2017-12-15 06:05:21
Document Index: 424946899

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 3', 'art 3', '§ 14', '§ 14', '§ 14', '§ 14', 'art 4']

Fighting Norwalk Connecticut Evading Responsibility / Hit-And-Run Arrests(Part 3 of 4) :: Norwalk Hit-and-Run Arrest Attorney The Law Offices of Mark Sherman
Fighting Norwalk Connecticut Evading Responsibility / Hit-And-Run Arrests(Part 3 of 4)
Fighting Norwalk Connecticut Evading Responsibility / Hit-And-Run Arrests
Step 1: Convince the Norwalk Police You Weren’t Driving Under the Influence
Any of the top Norwalk Connecticut criminal attorneys and lawyers know that Norwalk Police and Norwalk prosecutors are predisposed to assume that people leave the scene of a car accident to hide illegal activity. The best Norwalk Connecticut criminal lawyers who represent clients facing Evading Responsibility charges know the usual assumption is you were drunk driving, you had a suspended license, your insurance lapsed, or the car was not registered.
If you were doing everything legally, why would you risk leaving another person injured on the side of the road? This is when you will need your top Norwalk Connecticut criminal attorney lawyer to get in front of these questions as soon as possible. Ideally before there is a warrant for your arrest.
The reality of many Connecticut Evading Responsibility arrest cases is that more often than not, people panic and drive home as quickly as possible. This is especially true if the driver is a teenager or someone who has not been in a car accident before. In any event, many of the top Norwalk Connecticut criminal lawyers can be your voice to the Norwalk police officers who are investigating your case and try to convince them you weren’t drunk or breaking the law when you left the scene of the car accident.
Driver’s License Suspensions Following a Norwalk Connecticut Evading Responsibility Arrest
If you’ve been arrested for Evading Responsibility / Hit-and-Run in Norwalk Connecticut under C.G.S. § 14-224, then you are exposed to more than just criminal penalties. Many of top criminal attorneys in Norwalk Connecticut are also some of the best Connecticut DMV lawyers, so they can walk you through how a Norwalk Connecticut Evading Responsibility conviction triggers a Connecticut DMV license suspension.
If you go it alone and a prosecutor persuades you to enter a guilty plea to Evading Responsibility / C.G.S. § 14-224, or if you elect to have a trial and are found guilty, you will have a misdemeanor or felony conviction on your record AND your license will be suspended. The length of the suspension depends on the circumstances of your case. A felony Evading Responsibility conviction which caused serious physical injury or death will result in a one-year suspension while a misdemeanor conviction will trigger a 90-day suspension of your Connecticut driver’s license. Repeat offenders get a two-year and one-year suspension, respectively. Those penalties can be found under C.G.S. § 14-111.
Can I Still Get Arrested in Norwalk for Evading Responsibility / Hit-and-Run If I Was the Only Car Involved?
Absolutely. Norwalk Police will arrest you for leaving the scene of a one-car accident which causes property damage to a third party’s property, or damage to just your car, even if another car is not involved. Hitting someone’s mailbox, ruining their lawn, taking down their fence or stone wall, or damaging city property, can leave the property owner or insurance company out thousands of dollars in repair costs. Someone has to pay for it, and it will be either you, an insurance company, or the aggrieved property owner. If you go the insurance company route, then the insurer is going to have to figure out who was at fault through the police reports. That’s why you can get arrested for failing to report even a one-car accident—by failing to report the accident, you are putting insurance companies at an extreme disadvantage, as they will have no police reports or police investigation to rely upon to help them determine fault and pay out claims.
Plot Twist: If a Car You Own is Involved in a Hit and Run But You Were Not Driving, You Can Still Be Arrested!
An interesting and often unfair nuance in Norwalk Connecticut Evading Responsibility laws under C.G.S. § 14-224 arises when police aren’t sure who was driving the car that fled the scene of an accident. In these cases, they can arrest the owner of the car, regardless of whether they know who was driving the car at the time of the accident. The law allows police to assume the car owner is always driving the car. Then the burden shifts to the car owner, who must convince police they were not driving the car. So if you have been wrongly accused or arrested of Evading Responsibility in Norwalk Connecticut, be sure to contact any of the best Norwalk Connecticut criminal law firms to take the appropriate steps to protect and preserve your alibi such as cell phone records, credit card receipts, and surveillance videos.
Continue Reading…Norwalk Evading Responsibility Arrests, Part 4 of 4