Legal Question in Traffic Law in North Carolina

I wrecked my car and left it on the side of the road. I haven't talked directly to the troopers but I did leave a message at the headquarters saying that I wrecked it. Can they use that against me in court?


Asked on 1/26/14, 4:28 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys

Yes. You probably should not have done that. At this point, you may want to take a different stance than the traditional advice of not saying anything. You may want to consider being as polite and cooperative as you can. It is possible that if you lay it out for the investigating officer / trooper they may either not charge you with anything or if they do charge you, they may only charge you with Failure to Reduce Speed to Avoid an Accident. This is a charge that most District Attorney's will consider dismissing if you can show that you had insurance that paid for any claims presented. The other benefit to your calling headquarters is, if you did it soon after the accident occurred, you will most likely remove the automatic suspicion that law enforcement always has in this type of situation, namely that you were drunk and left the scene to avoid a charge of DWI. If they are convinced there was no alcohol involved in your accident they will be more likely to believe and sympathize that you simply had an accident.

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Answered on 1/26/14, 8:56 pm


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