What are the Consequences of Hit and Run Incident of Auto- Accident?

When auto-accidents take place, the immediate reaction or instinct is to flee from the place if you think that you have done wrong or the fault is yours. Even if you know that you do not have any fault of the auto-accident or you met with a very minor accident which did not hurt anybody either from your car or from the other vehicle and did not cause any damage to your car or anything else, you often take it easy and get out of the place. However, fleeing from the scene hit and run cases irrespective of whether a minor or major accident, can result in serious consequences as per the Buford Law.

The hit and run case refers to an auto-accident either with a car, or any fixed object or a pedestrian, and leaving the scene without stopping and without identifying yourself as a stakeholder of the accident or without rendering assistance to any injured person caused by the accident. Not all states in the US but at least some states define hit and run not only in relation to human beings as pedestrians but also for animals.

In addition to this, in most states, the investigators do not emphasize whether you caused the accident or not, but if you are not in the scene, you will be ultimately booked under heat and run laws. However, if after the accident you had to leave for seeking medical assistance or any kind of other assistance, or you left for a place such as hilltop to find a cell phone signal etc. your absence will not be counted as hit and run case in most states in the US unless and until you return to the scene.

The hit and run cases are booked under criminal procedures with criminal penalties which vary from state to state with fines from $ 5000 to $ 20000. It is also counted as a punishable crime and the hit and run felony can have punishment up to 15 years imprisonment. In addition to this, there can be also administrative penalties and civil penalties along with a cancellation of your automobile insurance policy.