People who are injured in a hit-and-run accident may never know who was to blame. Even when the investigation is ongoing, there is no guarantee that a suspect will ever be found. For a Pennsylvania woman who was hit by a driver who fled the scene, it was nearly five months before police arrested the man responsible for the crash.
They arrested him and charged him with the hit-and-run, as well as accidents involving personal injury and damage to a vehicle. They found him after a thorough investigation determined that he was the one who hit the woman back in June of this year.
When an incident like this occurs, some may wonder why the man left the accident scene. No doubt he did not want to take responsibility for his actions. Perhaps he had a previous driving record that could result in serious penalties for getting into another accident. It is also possible that he was a drunk driver. He might have thought he could get away with being involved in the crash.
Interestingly, he is also being charged with failure to give information and render aid. It seems like he is being held responsible for not making sure that the other people involved were alright. Most hit-and-run accidents where the responsible party is found, result in charges like DUIs or damage to property. If the hit-and-run is fatal and someone was killed in the crash, suspects are sometimes charged with fleeing the scene and vehicular manslaughter.
Now that the police have charged a suspect with the car accident, the woman has legal options. With her injuries, she will have hospital and therapy bills she has to pay as a result of the accident. She could file a civil suit against the hit-and-run driver as a way to recover some of that money in damages. She may also have an underinsured or uninsured motorist claim.
Source: The Sentinel online, “Man charged in connection with Upper Allen hit and run,” 3 November 2010