Massachusetts Criminal Defense Attorney Blog
According to an article in the Brockton Enterprise Shane Wilson of Norton, Massachusetts has been charged with Leaving the Scene After Causing Personal Injury Resulting in Death. The incident occurred early Sunday morning on Route 24 near Randolph. It is alleged that Wilson struck a twenty nine year old Needham man around 1:15 in the morning. Apparently, just hours after the incident Wilson called the police, stating that he was aware that he hit something, just not a person. Investigators think the victim was walking against the flow of traffic and had not concluded from where he was coming. Wilson’s car is in the possession of law enforcement officials. The article indicates that an accident reconstruction is being performed by the Massachusetts State Police. Wilson will be prosecuted at least initially in the Quincy District Court.
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Quincy, Massachusetts Motor Vehicle Crimes Defense Law Firm
Leaving the Scene After Personal Injury or Death Lawyers in Massachusetts
The charges here are quite serious. Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 90 Section 24 states that anyone who leaves the scene of an accident to avoid being arrested or prosecuted and as a result of that accident kills someone will be subject to a mandatory jail sentence of either one year in jail or two and one half years in state prison. It seems to me that the keys to this case are whether Wilson knew that he hit someone with his car and that after doing so he left the scene to avoid prosecution. All elements of this crime must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt to convict Wilson. As a Massachusetts Criminal Defense Lawyer here is what strikes me as interesting in this case. Wilson called the police himself to report that he hit something. What does this signify? 1) That he did not know if he in fact hit a person and 2) more importantly that he never intended to flee and avoid prosecution. Rather, he wanted to alert the authorities to a situation in which he was involved.
Here are some facts that I would need to know before assessing the viability of defenses in this case. Who if anybody was with Wilson when this happened? What did that person see? Where was the body found? What time did Wilson’s call go out to the police department? What does the state police accident reconstruction conclude? Did anyone else see what happened? Did the victim have a toxicology workup? What if anything did that reveal? There are many options for defending cases like this one. Each is fact specific. Wilson may want to consider his own accident reconstruction defending on the state police conclusions. We have engaged accident reconstructionists many times with excellent results. Many times these experts are able to demonstrate to a jury the flaws in the prosecutors’ expert’s analysis and show what really happened.
The Law Offices of Stephen Neyman is committed to defending the accused. We defend serious Motor Vehicle Crimes charged in Massachusetts. Do not wait. Call our office at 617-263-6800 or send us an email right now. We can help you.