QuestionHello, This is the only place I could see to find an answer to this. I need help in deciding what to do or if i can even do anything. I know someone who did a hit and run. She did it a few years ago and took off, leaving those poor people to suffer her consequences. The police came to her house days later and question her however she talked her way out of it saying it was someone else.She has a big ram truck and hit a 4 passenger vehicle. It occured in Arizona in 03 maybe- I dont live in that state however she called me and told me. Because of her wild lifestyle and friends I didnt feel safe reporting it. I am done hiding from this woman. She has been my such a drain in my life - Im scared to report it because if she knew it was me I know id be abused horrible even miles away. I dont speak with her anymore however I really want to report it.
AnswerDear Anonymous,
This is something you have lived with for three years, and it is well to try to get it out of your heart and into the open. There are a couple of things to consider in reporting it at this date. After you consider everything, you may want to just forget about it.
First is to balance your civic duty versus your own safety. In this respect, one looks at what your civic duty would accomplish. In other words, is there a great benefit to reporting this event? My answer: probably not.
Taking the police action first, it is not likely that they would be able to investigate further or to do anything in the way of a citation or a prosecution unless they used her statement against her.
This is because they already examined her vehicle and did not find sufficient evidence to go forward. (If they questioned her, they surely also examined her truck. That is certain, since it is basic police procedure.)
Therefore, the police are not likely to do anything against her unless and until the prosecuting attorney decides to take the case on. I once was a deputy prosecuting attorney, and so I may suggest here that one thing that would enter into my decision would be the seriousness of the injuries.
In other words, if it were just a ordinary soft tissue injury accident, I would decline to go back three years and try to prove the claim based upon the testimony of a witness who has only the phone conversation of the defendant to go on. This would indicate that your coming forward would not serve much civic good at all.
But if it were a death or very serious accident, then I would take every opportunity to pursue the case.
So, we next must ask about the injuries. Do you know how seriously (if at all) the victims were hurt? It would be my guess that this was an accident without a great deal of impact since her truck did not have sufficient evidence of impact to prove the case when they saw it three years ago. If the impact had been sufficient to cause serious injuries, then the police would have seen evidence of the accident on her truck. They did not, so that tells us the impact was not great.
Thus, I am of the opinion that the prosecuting attorney would decline to prosecute, unless she had some additional evidence from the police.
Would it be any help to the victims in terms of insurance recovery to report the accident? Well, that depends upon whether or not your "friend" had any insurance at the time of the accident.
In light of her wild lifestyle, it is unlikely that she had any insurance at all, so what would be the advantage to the victims in reporting it? None whatsoever.
It is more likely that the victims were insured with their own Underinsured Motorist (UIM) coverage, so they have been compensated.
In light of all of the circumstances, it is best to let this go and to do nothing. Try to enter into prayer for the victims, and to see them completely restored. And in prayer try to see your "friend" as healed spiritually such that she starts to find her way in her life. Then just let it go.
Best wishes,
Dr. Settlement, J.D. (Juris Doctor)
www.SettlementCentral.Com
