Would you go to jail for this?
 

You're driving on a windy country road at night in the rain, and you accidentally hit a pedestrian who is walking in the dark. You kill them.

You're sober and weren't driving recklessly, it was just bad conditions. Do the cops haul you off, or forgive the accident?

i don't think you should go to jail for it. if it really wasn't your fault....

They probably haul you in...

Turn yourself in and hope to god there's some solid evidence out there.

the driver does not deserve nor should he/she receive any jail time -- the person walking is the reckless one.

There are a lot of elements that play into this. If you were not speeding and not breaking any traffic laws, and this person was in the middle of the road, it is an accident.

As fucked up as our legas system is, I don't think you would be going to jail. Accidents happen, just don't run from the cops. Be honest and everything will work itself out.

I know what you did last summer. :warning

no its not considered vehicular manslaughter if theres no fault, such as wreckless driving, DWI, talking on your cell phone, driving with your top down and steering with your feet, etc. As long as you stop & call the police, you cant be charged for a hit & run, and if it was truely an accident you wont be arrested. Its the same as if you hit a dog, if you dont stop you can be arrested, if you call the police then you dont get fined, (however for some reason, this doesnt apply to cats).

Did you just keep driving, or were you an idiot and called the cops?

Should we be scanning news feeds for a hit and run?

well my good friend was killed by a lady talkin on a cell phone and who had multiple tickets and didnt do a day in jail or community service, so i seroiusly doubt you would get in trouble for that

Im pretty sure in California, if you hit any pedistrian whether it be at a crosswalk or in the middle of the canyons the driver is at fault no matter the conditions or anything. which I personally think is just fucked up, because some bum could just throw himself in front of your car and if you dont kill him, he gets mad cash out of it. Pretty fucked if you ask me.

bigwilly, depends on the state, if the state you live in, has the handsfree - no cell phone while driving laws & enforces them, then you're no longer NOT 100% fault free during the accident. If there is NOTHING that they can ticket you for (dwi, speeding, reckless driving, failure to stay right, running a stop sign, etc, no matter how trivial, then you're not at fault). I wish I knew where my criminology/penal code books were from college. Depending on the circumstances, it would be vehicular manslaughter on various degrees, but if it was raining, etc and you weren't speeding, etc. shouldn't be charged with anything.

You shouldnt go to jail for it, if it was an accident

Yeah, you're going to jail if you came home after hitting someone to pose this question on GFY

If the injured person was where he or she was not supposed to be, or somewhere he or she should have expected the kind of activity which caused the accident, the person who caused the accident might not be liable because that person had no "duty" to be careful toward the injured person.

If the injured person was also careless, his or her compensation may be reduced by the extent such carelessness was also responsible for the accident. This is known as comparative negligence.

Wrongful Death is a legal term that refers to situations in which someone is killed through the negligent behavior of someone else, such as aggressive driving, inattention, failure to obey traffic lights and signs as well as poor driving skills. If none of those apply, then you can rule that out.

As an example, years ago friends of mine were in a car accident, the passenger was ejected from the car and landed in the road. At the exact time, another car came along and hit him and dragged him which resulted in him being decapitated. During the initial accident, the guy was only injured but the oncoming car that hit him caused his death. The car that killed him wasn't charged with anything because the guy was in a place that he shouldn't have been expected to be (middle of the road, duing an ice storm, roads covered in black ice, the driver couldn't have stopped in time, even if they had tried).

that happened to one of my friend,
only difference the pedestrian wasnt dead, but he was walking in the middle of the road

So did your friend go to jail?

it was in florida, stupid bitch killed him and got away with it scott free, they didnt even suspend her license

:1orglaugh

I'm on the phone with my ex who's a police officer. He said, as long as you were under the speed limit, didn't do anything wrong, and if there's visible signs that you tried to stop, dodge them, etc, anything that shows you tried to prevent it, that helps 110%. But about a year ago a nun was driving a group of blind people to a church, and during the trip a 14 yr old boy ran out in the road, was instantly killed & the nun was prosecuted & sent to prison. Cali tends to have looser laws, but get an attorny ASAP who specialized in vehicular laws. My ex has access to all the legal information from various states, email him firedoc76(a)aol.com and describe to him what happened and he said he'll send you the links and information you need & exactly which laws you should look up & discuss with your lawyer ASAP!

Wow, I appreciate the response, but I'm actually just researching a screenplay :-)