If you fail to stop after a car accident for the purpose of exchanging information and rendering aid to any injured parties, you have violated Seattle law. Criminal prosecution for a hit and run offense could lead to a conviction, and all of the severe penalties that go along with it.
Hit and Run is a crime in Seattle, and severity is determined by a few different factors. If you damage an unattended vehicle and then leave the scene, you can be charged with a misdemeanor. If injuries to another party were involved then you can be charged with a Class C felony and punished with up to five years in prison and $10,000 worth of fines. If another person was killed you could be locked up for ten years and face a $20,000 fine.
Obviously, the stakes are high in these cases so you should contact one of our qualified Seattle hit and run lawyers for a private consultation. There are many different circumstances that could motivate you to contact a legal professional – you may have been charged with hit and run crime already, or you might believe that you committed the offense and want to minimize the penalties. Either way your primary focus should be to resolve the charges and put the whole affair behind you as quickly as possible.
Your best chance to reach a favorable outcome is to retain one of our legal professionals as soon as you can, so that they can get to work investigating your case.
Get More Information from Attorney Jason S. NewcombeHit and run accidents are more common than many people realize, and they happen for all kinds of different reasons and under different circumstances. At times people are involved in an accident and did not intend to depart the scene without doing what was legally required of them. In these cases the guilty party may want to retain legal counsel before approaching the authorities.
Sometimes a driver is involved in an accident and the stress of the situation causes them to panic and leave the scene. When their head clears they realize they made a mistake and want to do the right thing. Again, it is wise to talk to qualified Seattle hit and run attorneys before taking any action, so as to ensure your legal rights are protected.
When an accident happens there is a lot of confusion and chaos. For this reason it can be difficult to accurately identify the guilty party in a hit and run case, and it can lead to someone being falsely accused. Don’t let this happen to you – Contact one of our Seattle hit and run lawyers for a private and confidential consultation today. They will do everything the law allows to aggressively build a defense on your behalf, and help you seek a reduction of the charges or secure an acquittal.