Court Opinion

ID: 9634389
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 13:09:56.123979+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:09:01.561823
License: Public Domain

WIEAND, Judge,
concurring:
I concur. Common sense and justice alike dictate that a person cannot be held criminally responsible for leaving the *375scene of an accident when such person has no knowledge that a collision has occurred. However, absolute, positive knowledge of the accident is not essential. It is enough that the circumstances are such that knowledge on the part of the driver can reasonably be inferred. A mere denial of knowledge is not a defense. If the collision occurred under circumstances that ordinarily cause a reasonable person to believe he or she has been involved in a collision, the law imposes a duty to stop and investigate. See: Fisher, Vehicle Traffic Law, rev. ed. 1974, p. 190.
Although it must be shown that the driver knew or should have known that he or she was involved in an accident, guilt or innocence does not depend upon knowledge of injury or damage. It is enough that the driver have knowledge that he or she was involved in an accident.