Facing allegations of a hit-and-run is a scary proposition for any person, especially if he believes he is innocent. However, when the criminal charges against the defendant possibly include a DUI, in addition to the hit-and-run, a serious criminal defense needs to be considered immediately.
This appears to be the case for a 22-year-old man who is the prime suspect in a hit-and-run accident that injured a 19-year-old female. Police believe the suspect may have been drinking at the time, and claim that he has a history of alcohol related incidents. The police also claim that the truck the driver was in contained beer bottles. No arrest has been made even though the police have already questioned over 30 people. The police also claim that the suspect and his family are not cooperating. The family says they are cooperating, even offering to bring the suspect in three times, but the police refused to speak with him. An arrest warrant has not yet been issued.
Facing any type of felony charge involving a hit-and-run and alcohol charges requires a strong defense. When police work as hard as they can to gather evidence, defendants might feel like the deck seems stacked against them. However, there are still many defenses to the charges that can be put forth. For example, if the police cannot prove conclusively that the defendant was the driver at the time of the accident, then the entire case may have to be thrown out. If all else fails, there is always the chance of a plea bargain to throw out some of the more serious charges and to potentially get less or no jail time.
A criminal conviction or criminal record has serious long-term consequences. After being accused of a crime, help should be sought out immediately to try and mitigate the penalties as much as possible.
Source: CBS Atlanta, “Hit-and-run suspect’s family speaks out,” Greg Dingrando, Feb. 27, 2013