Houston accident injury attorneys: About 10% of traffic accidents in the United States each year involve hit and run collisions. This ranges from the clumsy, callous driver who runs into your car in a parking lot and leaves to the fatal collision with a bicyclist or pedestrian.
Despite the prevalence of the hit and run phenomenon in Texas and elsewhere, comparatively little serious research has been devoted to the topic. Part of the reason may be a lack of a consistent pathology.
Most hit and run accidents are just that: accidents. Unexpected accidents committed by ordinary people. And faced with the apparent ability to flee and never face the consequences, many people take that chance. Our Houston accident injury attorneys emphasize that these may be people who in usual circumstances are not so cowardly.
But the serious hit and run accident might be a once in a lifetime experience for which the driver has in no way prepared. And even though the consequences of fleeing and then getting caught are often much worse than just taking responsibility for the accident in the first place, many drivers will panic and run. And some drivers flee because they are drunk, in the possession of drugs, unlicensed and uninsured, or already have a warrant out for their arrest and want to avoid getting caught for their crimes.
The ubiquitous presence of surveillance cameras and cell phones, as well as recent advances in forensic sciences, make the driver’s chances of getting away with the crime slim at best.
Just recently in Houston, a horrific hit and run accident was featured in the news. On Thursday, a man who had just left Doctor’s Hospital by West Tidwell at West Montgomery was crossing the street to the bus stop when first one, and then another vehicle struck him and fled. The man, who had been released from the hospital, died from his double hit and run injuries.
The first vehicle to hit him, a Chevy S-10 pickup truck driven by an African-American woman described as being in her 50s, came back to the scene after striking the pedestrian and looked at the scene before then fleeing. Police believe that this driver at least was aware that she had struck someone.
Our Houston accident injury attorneys point out that the car that struck the man after the pickup did not stop. Police are asking anyone with knowledge of the deadly incident to call Crime Stoppers at 713-22-TIPS. Police are interviewing witnesses and reviewing surveillance tapes of the scene, so the drivers might well soon be caught if they haven’t been already. (Source: click2houston.com, 8/9/12)
By contrast, on Tuesday night, a car came around a corner without stopping at a stop sign and struck a pedestrian crossing the street at Bryant Road near I-45. The pedestrian received transport to the hospital in serious but stable condition. And the driver, who apparently did not flee, just received a Class C traffic citation for failing to stop at the sign and hitting the pedestrian. (Source: khou.com, 8/8/12)
The driver that takes responsibility up front for their actions often has a better chance of successfully defending them with minimal damage. An accident, after all, is just an accident. But the deliberate act of taking flight after an accident changes the picture considerably.
Learn about what you can do to obtain fair recompense for the harm you or a family suffers at the hands of a hit and run driver. Read this informative article on hit and run accident consequences by our Houston accident injury attorneys.