LEAVING THE SCENE OF AN ACCIDENT—N.J.S.A. 39:4-129
Leaving Scene
You’re driving your automobile in heavy but moving traffic in the right lane on a two lane highway. The car in front of you stops short suddenly and without warning. In efforts to avoid rear ending him, you quickly jump into the left lane. As you move left, you become aware of a vehicle slightly behind you in the left lane. You quickly scoot in front of it. At the split second you make the lane change, you feel or hear a very slight impact on the rear bumper of your vehicle. You look in your rear mirror and you notice that the driver of the vehicle behind you is motioning to you. You elect to ignore him or her. No significant collision occurred in your judgment. You decide to just keep driving.
Have you just committed a serious traffic offense?
N.J.S.A. 39:4-129(a) provides that “The driver of any vehicle, knowingly involved in a motor vehicle accident resulting in injury or death to any person shall immediately stop the vehicle at the scene of the accident or as close thereto as possible but shall then return forthwith to and in every event remain at the scene until…shall give his name and address and exhibit his operator’s license and registration certificate of his vehicle to the person injured or whose vehicle or property was damaged and to any police officer or witness of the accident, and to the driver or occupants of the vehicle collided with and render to a person injured in the accident reasonable assistance, including the carrying of that person to a hospital or a physician for medical or surgical treatment, if it is apparent that treatment is necessary or is requested by the injured person. In the event that none of the persons specified are in condition to receive the information…and no police officer is present, the driver of any vehicle involved in such accident…shall forthwith report such accident to the nearest office of the local police department…Any person who shall violate this subsection shall be fined not less than $2,500.00 nor more than $5000.00, or be imprisoned for a period of 180 days, or both. The term of imprisonment required by this subsection shall be imposed only if the accident resulted in death or injury to a person other than the driver convicted of violating this section. In addition, any person convicted under this subsection shall forfeit his right to operate a motor vehicle for a period of one year from the date of his conviction for the first offense and for a subsequent offense shall thereafter permanently forfeit his right to operate a motor vehicle over the highways of this State.”
N.J.S.A. 39:4-129(b) provides that “The driver of any vehicle knowingly involved in an accident resulting only in damage to a vehicle, including his own vehicle, … Any person who shall violate this subsection shall be fined not less than $200.00 nor more than $400.00, or be imprisoned for a period of not more than 30 days, or both, for the first offense, and for a subsequent offense, shall be fined not less than $400.00 nor more than $600.00 or be imprisoned for a period not less than 30 days nor more than 90 days or both. In addition…for a first offense forfeit his right to operate a motor vehicle in this State for a period of 6 months from the date of conviction, and for a period on 12 months …for any subsequent offense.”
N.J.S.A. 39:4-129(e) provides that “There shall be a permissive inference that the driver of any automobile involved in an accident resulting in injury or death to any person or damage in the amount of $250.00 or more to any vehicle or property has knowledge he was involved in such accident…it shall not be a defense that the operator of the motor vehicle was unaware of the existence or extent of personal injury or property damage caused by the accident as long as the operator was aware that he was involved in an accident…There shall be a permissive interest that the registered owner of the vehicle involved in the accident…was the person involved in the accident…however, if the vehicle is owned by a rental car company there shall be a permissive inference that the renter or authorized driver pursuant to the rental contract, not the owner of the vehicle …was involved in the accident.”
So, the answer is YES. If you are involved in an automobile collision, and you fail to stop your vehicle and, at the very least, exchange your name, address, insurance information, drivers license number, and telephone the police to report the accident, you’ve probably violated N.J.S.A. 39:4-129, unless there was less than an aggregate total of $250.00 damage to all vehicles involved and the court believes it is credible that you did not know that a collision of any kind took place. There is a presumption of knowledge that can be invoked by the State. State v. Walten, 241 N.J. Super 529, 534-535, 575 A. 2d 529, 531-532 (App. Div. 1990). The presumption of knowing involvement in an accident is generally treated as a permissive inference. State v. Kay, 151 N.J. Super 255, 376 A.2d 978 (County Ct. 1978).
A word with regard to one car collisions, e.g., you are operating your vehicle when you strike a guard rail, curb, tree, off road fence, etc…This type of event is still considered an accident for purposes of N.J.S.A. 39:4-129 because you likely caused damage to State property and you may also be driving under the influence of intoxicating liquors or narcotics. If you leave the scene without calling the police and you are later apprehended, you will likely be charged with leaving the scene of an accident.
An important distinction to be made is that violation of N.J.S.A. 39:4-129 is not a criminal event, but rather one of the most serious traffic tickets that can be issued. In addition to the loss of driving privileges, fines, and possible incarceration, the Motor Vehicle Commission (MVC) assesses 8 insurance points upon conviction. If you are charged with this offense, the best practice is to retain experienced counsel immediately. Contact me for help.
