Articles Posted in Leaving the Scene

On August 30, 2023, NN, a 44 year old software engineer from Rowley, was on his way home at about 1:20 in the morning after a “night out”. As he prepared to make a right turn onto his street, he missed the street. So he put his car into reverse and proceeded to back up. Unfortunately, he backed up into a neighbor’s driveway, striking the front end of a pick up truck that was parked in the driveway, pushing the back end of the pickup truck into the side of the garage causing damage to both the pickup truck and the garage.  Not realizing what he had done, NN put his vehicle in drive and pulled out of the driveway and pulled into his own driveway, went in his house, and went to sleep!

Unfortunately for NN, parts of his car were left in the neighbor’s driveway and it did not take the police long to figure out that it was NN’s vehicle that had caused the damage. The police contacted NN and he made admissions to the police that he had been driving that early morning, but he had no memory of the accident. The police served a citation for leaving the scene of a property damage accident on NN, and a Clerk-Magistrate Hearing was scheduled in Newburyport District Court for October 25, 2023. NN consulted with and retained Attorney Robert Lewin from Andover.

Attorney Lewin contacted the homeowner whose truck and house had been damaged. Fortunately for NN the cost to repair the damage to the house and the pickup truck was not great. NN did not want to be surcharged on his insurance. Attorney Lewin was able to negotiate a reasonable settlement of the damage to the truck and the house which NN was more than willing to pay. Attorney Lewin then spoke to the police prosecutor from Rowley and explained that Attorney Lewin had been able to arrange for the neighbor to be fully paid for the damage that had been caused. In return, Attorney Lewin was able to get the police to agree that at the Clerk-Magistrate Hearing the police would not be opposed to a criminal complaint NOT being issued against NN.

On January 11, 2024, JM, a 20 year old sheet metal worker, was on his way to work at 6:45 in the morning. He was driving on a street in Andover when a Town Forestry truck with a chipper attached pulled in front of him. He braked but could not stop and struck the rear of the chipper. He kept driving and left the scene without stopping and giving his info. Several hours later, after talking the situation over with his father, he drove to the Andover PD and self-reported the accident. The police told him he should have stopped at the scene and they gave him a citation for leaving the scene of an accident! (Only in Andover would the police cite someone who 3 hours after the accident self-reported the accident.)

As a 20 year old driver, JM was facing a substantial loss of license if charged and convicted. JM and his father contacted and hired Attorney Robert Lewin from Andover.  Attorney Lewin advised JM to immediately request a clerk-magistrate hearing which JM did. Attorney Lewin contacted the Andover Police Prosecutor and pointed out that within three hours of the accident JM self-reported the accident and identified himself as the driver of the car. Attorney Lewin did some investigation and it turns out that although there was clearly a collision between JM’s vehicle and the chipper, the chipper had not sustained any damage. One of the elements of the crime of Leaving the Scene (Hit and Run) is that there must be some damage to the other vehicle. JM’s vehicle was damaged, but it turns out that the chipper had sustained no damage. Attorney Lewin was able to get the Town Forestry Assistant Manager to confirm that there was no damager to the chipper. Attorney Lewin notified the Police Prosecutor that there was no damage to the chipper.

On April 25, 2024, JM and Attorney Lewin appeared at Lawrence District Court for the Clerk-Magistrate hearing.  The case was called and JM and Attorney Lewin walked into the hearing room. The Assistant Clerk-Magistrate and the Police Prosecutor were present in the room. It was obvious that the Clerk-Magistrate and the Police Prosecutor had discussed the case. The Clerk-Magistrate turned to Attorney Lewin and said what would you like me to do. Attorney Lewin said dismiss the case. The Clerk-Magistrate then said “I am entering a finding of NO probable cause and NO criminal complaint will be issued. This matter is dismissed” The hearing took about 30 seconds.

On September 19, 2023, BL, a 60 year old nurse from Methuen, went to a store in Haverhill,. As she pulled down the street in the front of the store her passenger side outside mirror struck the driver side outside mirror of a car parked on the street.  All of this was captured on an on street video camera. BL continued down the street a short distance and then parked. BL is then seen walking over to the struck vehicle, looking at it the mirror was hanging down by a wire), and then continuing to the store. She is then seen leaving the store with three other people, walking over to the struck vehicle, and then walking to her vehicle and drive away. She did not offer her information. The incident was reported to the police. The police viewed the video. Her license plate number had been written down by someone at the scene. The police cited BL for leaving the scene of a property damage accident and her case was set down for a Clerk-Magistrate Hearing on December 8, 2023.

BL contacted and retained Attorney Robert Lewin from Andover. Attorney Lewin immediately obtained copies of the police report and contacted the Haverhill Police and was able to obtain from the police a copy of the on street video and a copy of the photos of the struck video. BL could not afford to lose her license as she is a private duty nurse who travels everyday from Methuen to Merrimack to care for a patient. A conviction of a hit and run property damage case carries as 60 day loss of license. Attorney Lewin advocated on BL’s behalf with the police to agree to a disposition where BL would not be charged.

The hearing was a zoom hearing. Prior to the hearing Attorney Lewin had obtained and electronically filed at Haverhill District Court a notice that the man whose car had been struck  had been fully compensated for the damage to his vehicle by his insurance company. On December 8, 2023, Attorney Lewin and BL appeared on the zoom along with the Clerk-Magistrate and the Police Prosecutor. Attorney Lewin advocated strenuously to the Clerk-Magistrate not to issue a criminal complaint against BL.

On December 10, 2022, at 4:00 am after a night out with friends, ND, a 25 year old man from Methuen, was driving to his home in Methuen when he struck a parked car in Haverhill. He was able to pull his car into an adjacent parking lot in Haverhill. He then left his car there and walked away from the scene. He called a family member who picked him up in Haverhill and brought him home to Methuen. The police responded to the accident scene. They found ND’s car and ran the plate and it came back to ND. Meanwhile, ND’s family member called the police to report the accident and to report that ND had been driving the car at the time of the accident. The police issued a citation to ND for Leaving the Scene of a Property Damage accident.

ND and his family contacted and retained Attorney Robert Lewin from Andover. Attorney Lewin instructed ND to immediately take the citation and bring it to Haverhill District Court to request a Clerk-Magistrate Hearing. Attorney Lewin explained to ND that a Clerk-Magistrate Hearing is an opportunity to “kill the case” before it goes to a criminal complaint. ND immediately brought the citation to Haverhill District Court and requested a hearing.

Attorney Lewin contacted ND’s insurance company to make sure that the owner of the parked car had been paid for the damage (total) to his car. This is important as the Clerk-Magistrate will want to know if the “victim” has been fully compensated for his loss. Attorney Lewin was able to get written confirmation of payment from the insurance company. Attorney Lewin also ran a copy of ND’s driver history and it was clean. This is important as the police will give the Clerk-Magistrate a copy of the driver history at the hearing and it is important to know ahead of time what it shows. In addition, Attorney Lewin ran ND’s criminal history and it only showed one minor criminal case that had been dismissed seven years previously. Attorney Lewin also reached out to the Haverhill Police Prosecutor to discuss a resolution of the case that would not involve the issuance of a criminal complaint against ND.

On September 3, 2021, SA, a 34 year old certified nursing assistant from Methuen, was driving on Chelmsford Street in Methuen when she rear ended the car in front of her. She stopped for a moment and then fled the scene and drove home. The operator of the other vehicle was able to get the license plate number of SA’s car. The police responded to the accident scene and spoke to the driver of the vehicle that was struck and obtained from her the license plate number of SA’s car. The police ran the plate and learned SA’s address and then drove to SA’s home where they saw the car and spoke with SA. SA admitted her involvement and the police issued her a criminal citation for leaving the scene of a property damage accident. SA took the citation and brought it to Lawrence District Court to request a hearing. SA then looked for a lawyer and consulted with and retained Attorney Robert Lewin from Andover.

Attorney Lewin contacted SA’s insurance company to make certain that the claim for the property damage to the other vehicle would be covered. Subsequently, Attorney Lewin obtained written confirmation from the insurance company that the claim would be paid. Attorney Lewin also spoke to the Methuen Police Prosecutor and advocated for the case to be settled at the Clerk-Magistrate hearing without a criminal complaint being issued against SA. On October 14, 2021 SA and Attorney Lewin appeared at Lawrence District Court for a Clerk-Magistrate Hearing. The Clerk-Magistrate was concerned that there was no input from the driver of the other car or her attorney. The Clerk-Magistrate suggested that he was willing to not issue a criminal complaint but wanted input from the driver of the other car or her attorney. The hearing was continued for a month. Attorney Lewin contacted the lawyer for the driver of the other car and was able to get a written statement from him that both he (the lawyer) and  his client (the driver of the car that SA struck) had no objection to the Clerk-Magistrate NOT issuing a criminal complaint against SA.

On November 18, 2021 SA and Attorney Lewin appeared again at Lawrence District Court. Attorney Lewin presented the written confirmation from the Attorney for the other driver that they had no objection to the Clerk-Magistrate not issuing the complaint. The Clerk-Magistrate then DENIED the police application for the criminal complaint and the matter was dismissed.

On September 24, 2020 MB, a 21 year old woman from Haverhill, was driving in Haverhill when she collided into another vehicle being driven on the road. The other driver stopped but MB panicked and left the scene of the accident without stopping. Unfiortunatedly for MB her front license plate had fallen off her car at the accident scene. The police responded to the accident scene, found the plate, ran the plate, and learned that the plate belonged to a vehicle registered to MB. The police then went to MB’s home and found MB’s car still warm and with fresh front end damage. The police went to the door and MB came to the door. MB at first told the police that the other driver had fled the scene and MB had placed the accident at a different location. When the police confronted MB that her license plate was found at the scene provided by the other driver MB confessed. The police issued MB a citation for leaving the scene of a property damage accident.

MB consulted with and retained Attorney Robert Lewin from Andover. Attorney Lewin made certain that the citation would be set up for a Clerk-Magistrate Hearing. A Clerk-Magistrate Hearing is an opportunity to settle the case before a criminal complaint is issued. Attorney Lewin contacted MB’s insurance company to make certain that the property damage claim filed by the other driver was paid. Attorney Lewin also spoke with the Haverhill Police Prosecutor and advocated with the prosecutor for NO criminal complaint to be issued against MB. MB was working full time as a CNA (certified nursing assistant) and she was attending a Community College to become a registered nurse. She had no criminal record and it was important to her to avoid being charged with a criminal offense.

On March 12, 2021 MB and Attorney Lewin appeared at Haverhill District Court for a Clerk-Magistrate Hearing. Attorney Lewin advocated for the Clerk-Magistrate to NOT issue a criminal complaint against MB. The Clerk-Magistrate then announced that he was going to continue the hearing for six months to September 10, 2021 and that if MB had no further law violations then the Clerk-Magistrate would deny the application for criminal complaint and NO criminal complaint would be issued against MB.