Q: Traffic violation
My son was in a traffic accident and the other person was cited. First some details.
The driver cited hit my son while he was making a left turn in a residential area with pedestrians present. The driver that was cited rolled his car 3 or 4 times and caused both cars to be totaled. The cited driver received a citation only for illegal passing. None of the 3 students received treatment for injuries at the scene, all 3 have since went to receive treatment.
i would think due to the severity and recklessness the citation should have been reckless operation?
A:
Hello Asker,
First, you should ensure that your son and all of his friends were taken care of by the other driver's insurance company. In the event that they were not made whole, they should seriously consider speaking to a personal injury attorney who does traffic accidents to determine what options are available.
Second, you should be on the lookout for notices to appear in court. In the event that the other driver pleads guilty, this can help your case by serving as evidence of fault in future civil lawsuit were your son to pursue the matter.
Third, it is possible that his actions could have risen to the point of recklessness but the reason the officer wrote the ticket they did was to assist the prosecution in proving their case. Remember that the officer was not a witness to the events so he cannot provide testimony of how it occurred without triggering hearsay issues. Therefore, the prosecution must rely on your son and the other students for testimony making the case harder to prove as they aren't professional witnesses like cops. Furthermore, reckless driving has many more elements to prove making the prosecution's case much harder than proving an illegal left turn. Lastly, so long as the prosecution can prove there was an illegal left turn (very easy) and that it caused an accident (less easy but still not difficult), they can win. Charging reckless driving however is much harder to prove than an illegal left turn.
Therefore, the officer has written the ticket which is technically accurate and MUCH easier to prove.
Hope that helps and let me know if you have further questions.
Jason A. Wilkins
Traffic Attorney
(630) 445-2293
www.jwilkinslaw.com
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