Lakewood Man Charged with Leaving the Scene of Fatal Accident
A Lakewood man was arrested Sunday night by Jackson Police and has been charged with knowingly leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident. The charges arise out of a fatal motor vehicle accident in which the defendant's minivan struck a sedan broadside and killed one of the sedan's passengers. The tragic accident occurred 9:30 a.m. Sunday morning. The defendant is being held in the Ocean County Jail on $150,000 bail. For additional info, please see the Asbury Park Press Article.
In New Jersey, charges for knowingly leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident are governed by N.J.S.A. 2C:12-1.1 which provides in pertinent part:
§ 2C:12-1.1. Knowingly leaving scene of motor vehicle accident resulting in serious bodily injury, third degree crime
A motor vehicle operator who knows he is involved in an accident and knowingly leaves the scene of that accident under circumstances that violate the provisions of N.J.S.A. 39:4-129 shall be guilty of a crime of the third degree if the accident results in serious bodily injury to another person. The presumption of nonimprisonment set forth in N.J.S.A. 2C:44-1 shall not apply to persons convicted under the provisions of this section.
If the evidence so warrants, nothing in this section shall be deemed to preclude an indictment and conviction for aggravated assault or assault by auto under the provisions of N.J.S.A. 2C:12-1.
Notwithstanding the provisions of N.J.S.A. 2C:1-8 or any other provisions of law, a conviction arising under this section shall not merge with a conviction for aggravated assault or assault by auto under the provisions of N.J.S.A. 2C:12-1 and a separate sentence shall be imposed upon each conviction.
Notwithstanding the provisions of N.J.S.A. 2C:44-5 or any other provisions of law, whenever in the case of such multiple convictions the court imposes multiple sentences of imprisonment for more than one offense, those sentences shall run consecutively.
For the purposes of this section, neither knowledge of the serious bodily injury nor knowledge of the violation are elements of the offense and it shall not be a defense that the driver of the motor vehicle was unaware of the serious bodily injury or provisions of N.J.S.A. 39:4-129.
As you can see, the penalties involved are very severe. Also, the defendant may be charged with aggravated assault, assault by auto, or vehicular homicide based on these circumstances and is facing a significant prison sentence. Obviously, when cases like this arise the concern is that the driver was intoxicated at the time of the the accident and fled the scene because he did not want law enforcement to test his blood alcohol content (BAC). However, most charges of leaving the scene of an accident in New Jersey are handled at the Municipal Court level based on a violation of N.J.S.A. 39:4-129.
