Trucker threatened with felony charge

It seems you have legitimate questions about your case.

By JIM KLEPPER
The Trucker News Services

10/28/2009

On Sept. 3, 2007, I was stopped in the state of Illinois at which time I was informed I had supposedly struck another vehicle (in Missouri) and then left the scene. I never received a citation for this incident. Approximately six weeks later I was sent a letter from Missouri informing me that I was to appear in court.

I was ready to appear for court but was informed it had been continued. Three more times I was ready to appear, only to have the case continued again. The Friday before I was to appear for the hearing the last time I was called by my attorney only to inform me it was postponed again. This type of ordeal of telling me to appear and then postponing went on for 19 months. Eventually I made a total of five court appearances only to be told the case was postponed each time because the victim had not been notified to appear, or the officer was on vacation, or the prosecutor was out sick, or the judge was unavailable due to another trial.

Since I live in another state this trip was a 600-mile roundtrip each time, plus motel accommodations. Each time arrangements had to be made with my company to be home to make my court appearance. This means lost wages since I do drive a commercial vehicle. I have not received a traffic violation of any kind in 25 years. So this will tell you I am not an irresponsible person. I actually wanted to go to court so I could tell the court I did not believe I "bumped" this individual.

In April of this year, I was again notified of a new court date, June 8. On June 4 my attorney notified me that the prosecuting attorney had submitted an ultimatum to me. It was that I either plead guilty to careless driving and pay a fine of $754 or they were going to drop the charges against me and refile the case as a felony hit-and-run and take it to the limit and prosecute me to the fullest extent of the law. This would mean that it would probably cost me a lot more money and a lot more of my time. The prosecuting attorney wanted to know if I was ready for an all-out trial. The prosecutor told my attorney that if I know what's good for me I would settle this thing now instead of dragging it on maybe another six months and possibly be guilty of a felony.

I guess my problem with this whole situation is that I was considered guilty from the very onset of this ordeal because I was a big truck. This whole deal sounds like blackmail to me.

– Bob V.

It seems you have legitimate questions about your case. First of all your attorney should be able to answer any and all questions you have about this case. Further, your attorney should be able to tell through discovery the type and accuracy of such a case against you. Seems you have really been put through the wringer to appear, and you have done so each time and can prove it.

Further, I would talk to your company and discuss all the options you have. The prosecuting attorney may be setting you and your company up for millions of dollars of losses in a civil trial. Please discuss this with your company and their insurance carrier. Plus, discuss this with your own personal insurance company, either auto or homeowner, to see if you have any way to have the insurance companies pay for your fight.

Missouri Revised Statutes Section 577.060 August 28, 2008 says:

Leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident.

577.060. 1. A person commits the crime of leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident when being the operator or driver of a vehicle on the highway or on any publicly or privately owned parking lot or parking facility generally open for use by the public and knowing that an injury has been caused to a person or damage has been caused to property, due to his culpability or to accident, he leaves the place of the injury, damage or accident without stopping and giving his name, residence, including city and street number, motor vehicle number and driver's license number, if any, to the injured party or to a police officer, or if no police officer is in the vicinity, then to the nearest police station or judicial officer.

2. For the purposes of this section, all peace officers shall have jurisdiction, when invited by an injured person, to enter the premises of any privately owned parking lot or parking facility for the purpose of investigating an accident and performing all necessary duties regarding such accident.

3. Leaving the scene of a motor vehicle accident is a Class A misdemeanor, except that it shall be a class D felony if the accident resulted in:

(1) Physical injury to another party; or

(2) Property damage in excess of one thousand dollars; or

(3) If the defendant has previously pled guilty to or been found guilty of a violation of this section.

Remember, the state must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you left the scene where you were driving the truck that was involved in the accident, that you knew you were involved in the accident and that you failed to stop and report the accident. Will they be able to prove each point of the law against you? Would a reasonable person, in your case a reasonable truck driver, have been able to tell if they were involved in the type of accident you described as “bumped”? All of this will go to your credibility.

Or will the prosecutor be able to describe with photos and testimony of the other driver and his car the type of crash that a reasonable person would know happened. Are there other witnesses besides the other driver, such as passengers, other drivers or people on the street? Was there evidence of a collision on your truck or trailer with the specific vehicle the other driver was driving at the time? Could this be an accident scam just to extort money from you and your company? You need to know these things.

Your attorney should have the entire discovery in his possession since you were up to four days from trial before, and can advise you on your chances of winning or losing. Have him send you copies of the discovery so you can review them and then discuss them with him/her. Also find out what made the prosecutor want to refile this as a felony and even whether you could be convicted of a felony. Missouri law requires either property damage in excess of one thousand dollars or physical injury to another party to sustain a conviction as a felony. Your attorney will know if the damage exceeds one thousand dollars or if the other driver was injured, so talk to him/her.

This case will have a big impact on your career. Again, talk with your company and their insurance carrier as well as your personal insurance. And discuss this with your attorney and have him give you adequate answers to your concerns about this ultimatum you received. If you do go to trial, make sure your attorney brings another truck driver or transportation expert so they will be able to tell the court whether you knew or should have known you were involved in an accident. If you and your witnesses tell a better, more believable story than the prosecutor and his witnesses, then you should win.

Jim C. Klepper is president of Interstate Trucker Ltd., a law firm dedicated to legal defense of the nation's commercial drivers. Interstate Trucker represents truck drivers throughout the 48 states on both moving and nonmoving violations. He is also president of Drivers Legal Plan, which allows member drivers access to his firm’s services at discounted rates. A former prosecutor, he is a lawyer who has focused on transportation law and the trucking industry in particular. He works to answer your legal questions about trucking and life over-the-road and has his Commercial Drivers License.

For more information call (800) 333-DRIVE (3748) or go to www.interstatetrucker.com and www.driverslegalplan.com.

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