Florida Leaving the Scene Of an Accident Florida Statute 316.061 Hit and Run Driver. Now what?

One of the things that come up so often is leaving the scene of an accident case. Most of these cases are a misdemeanor where someone is in a fender-bender with another vehicle. Maybe side swiped a vehicle and left the scene there after. The key to those cases and the most difficult for the State of Florida to prove in these types of cases, is who is the driver. Its the leaving the scene of the accident. The police may find out that somehow you may have been involved, someone may have gotten a license plate, the police then do a follow up investigation and they may come to your house because you are the registered owner of the vehicle. The problem for the State (and for the police) is who was driving that vehicle. It could have been your mom, dad, brother, cousin , best friend billy, your girlfriend, boyfriend, a multitude of people. So, some other things that you need to know just when leaving the scene of an accident, again we are generally speaking of misdemeanors here. A misdemeanor generally, theres a couple of numerated offenses that are not listed, for the most part probably 90% of misdemeanor cases must occur in the presence of a police officer. Again, there are a few exceptions. If there is a leaving the scene of an accident and the police officer wasn't there, obviously he didn't witness it, it makes it very difficult to arrest you for that crime. Whats the other way to get around that? If the police are doing an investigation and the police is allowed to lie to you as the supreme court has said. They are allowed to lie to a suspect.and they convince you that there was a video camera that someone made an id of you driving your vehicle. And you say oh I'm so sorry, i bumped it and i was going to leave a message, i was just driving the other way. Whatever the reason, you just gave a statement against your interest as a confession and then they can arrest you because now theres probable cause, they have an accident they didn't witness it but they have a confession to it. Hence the case is over and thats what happens in over 90% of the cases. So like any case wether its on t.v, keep your mouth shut. If you are speaking to a police officer he is allowed to lie to you. He can say whatever he needs to say to convince you that he is a good guy, that he is going to do the right thing. But the right thing to do always is to ask for a lawyer and to keep your mouth shut. So leaving the scene of an accident, you're being investigated for a crime. The purpose of this video is to educate you about how to deal with police. If a police officer says "hey is that your car" you can say " are you detaining me or am i free to go?" But leaving the scene of an accident is something that comes up so often that i though it was worth addressing.
Leaving the scene of an accident (Misdemeanor) is a common question wherein people are being investigated because their vehicle was involved in an accident and left the scene. Generally, police need to witness a misdemeanor crime, with some exceptions, to be able to make a lawful arrest. However, if they did not see it and you give a confession then you will be arrested. Anytime that you are being questioned by police regarding a crime you should keep quiet and/or ask for an attorney. Remember the phrase "are you detaining me or am I free to go?" If they detain you keep quiet ad request an attorney and if you are free to go then leave. This video is for general information and does not constitute legal advice as no lawyer client relationship is implied.
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