Articles Posted in Leaving the Scene

On September 17, 2021 LP, a 70 year old woman, was driving in Medfield. She came to an intersection and stopped. There was a pedestrian cross walk in front of her. She looked to her right and saw two girls standing on the sidewalk. According to the Medfield Police Department report the girls stated they were waiting at the crosswalk to go across the street. The girls stated LP’s car was stopped at the crosswalk and the driver waived the girls to go ahead to cross the street. The girls stated that as they walked in front of the car they heard the engine start up and the car pulled ahead, striking one of the girls so that she fell onto the hood of the car. The girls then said the driver shrugged her shoulders and drove away. The girls got the plate number of the car.

The police located the car just down the street; it was parked. LP was in the driver’s seat. LP told the police that she did not strike either of the girls. LP said she saw the girls to her right and they were just standing there. LP looked to her left to see if she could pull into the traffic. LP wanted to make a right turn at the intersection. A truck driver approaching from her left waived LP out. LP then proceeded ahead. LP then saw one of the girls in front of her car and immediately hit the brake. LP denied striking the girl.

The police gave LP a citation for leaving the scene after causing personal injury. LP had a relationship with a large Boston Law firm that was doing some civil law work for her. The firm referred LP to Attorney Robert Lewin of Andover. LP consulted with and hired Attorney Lewin. Attorney Lewin immediately advised LP to take the citation and request a clerk-magistrate hearing at Dedham District Court. LP did that. Attorney Lewin then contacted LP’s insurance company to see if any personal injury claim had been filed against LP by the girl who claimed to have been hit by LP. Attorney Lewin learned from her insurance company that no claim had been filed. Attorney Lewin also immediately obtained the police reports. Attorney Lewin investigated to see if there were any video cameras that may have captured this incident; there were not.

On January 11, 2022, DC, a 23 year old laborer from Methuen, was driving home in his large pick-up truck. He drifted across the road and collided head on into a small car headed in the opposite direction. DC did not stop but kept on driving towards his home. DC pulled into the parking lot of the apartment complex where he lived. Within minutes the police arrived. DC admitted that he had hit the other vehicle and fled the scene. The police cited DC for a marked lanes violation and leaving the scene of a property damage accident. DC met with and retained Attorney Robert Lewin from Andover to represent him.

Attorney Lewin contacted DC’s insurance company to make certain that the insurance company promptly paid any claims made by the owner of the other vehicle (a young woman). Attorney Lewin met with the Assistant District Attorney to negotiate a settlement of the case. DC did not want to lose his license. If the case were to end up with a guilty finding DC would have lost his license for a minimum of 60 days. Attorney Lewin was successful in getting the District Attorney to agree to continue the case without a finding for six months; a continuance without a finding would NOT involve any loss of license.

On June 14, 2022 DC and Attorney Lewin appeared in Lawrence District Court. The Judge after hearing from the Assistant District Attorney and Attorney Lewin agreed to continue DC’s case without a finding for six months to December 14, 2022. As long as DC stays out of trouble for those six months, the case will be dismissed on December 14, 2022 and DC will NOT suffer any loss of his license. In addition, because Attorney Lewin had contacted the insurance company early on, Attorney Lewin was able to furnish the District Attorney and the judge with proof that DC’s insurance company had fully paid for the damage to the other vehicle; as a result, the Judge ordered that DC did NIOT have to pay any restitution.

On Saturday morning March 2, 2019 at about 2:30 am,  DE, a 48 year old plasterer from Malden, was arrested for Leaving the Scene of a Property Damage Accident and for Failing to Identify Himself. The police responded to a one car accident on Rt. 99 in Malden. A work van full of plastering equipment was found by the police up against a utility pole. The entire front end of the van was crashed in and both front airbags had deployed. No one was in the van. The keys were still in the ignition. The police ran the license plate and the registered owner was DE who lived near the accident scene. It was 2:30 in the morning. The police got an anonymous tip that a man wearing a gray sweater was seen leaving the van and heading up the street on foot toward the street where DE lived. The police drove up the street and located DE walking. He was drunk; he was covered in plaster; and he was walking toward his home. The police asked DE to identify himself and he refused. He demanded to know why the police were stopping him. The police told him his van was wrapped around a pole and he said F___ you to the officer. The police arrested DE. He refused to say anything to the police. He refused to admit the van was his; he refused to admit that he was driving; he said NOTHING. DE was brought to the police station and again he refused to say anything. He was put in a cell and at about two in the afternoon he finally got bailed out. On Monday, March 4, 2019 DE went to Malden Court and was arraigned.

DE called Attorney Robert Lewin from North Andover. DE was quite familiar with Attorney Lewin as Attorney Lewin had successfully defended DE against a charge of Drunk Driving 2nd Offense that had been brought against DE by the Gloucester Police in June of 2018. That case went to a jury trial on November 28, 2018 and on November 29, 2018 DE was found NOT guilty. (To read about that case see the entry on this website dated December 4, 2018).

In any event Attorney Lewin prepared the case for trial and noted that the Commonwealth would have trouble proving that DE was driving the van at the time of the accident. The District Attorney had numerous documents from the Registry of Motor Vehicles; but Attorney Lewin noticed that the documents were not properly certified. Attorney Lewin kept that little tidbit of information to himself.

On May 31, 2019 QN, a 19 year old male, was driving home to his Mother’s house in Andover when he lost control of his car and crashed into two parked vehicles. It was about 2:30 AM. QN got out of his car and looked around. All the homes in the neighborhood were dark. QN called his father who lives in Peabody. The father told him to wait at the scene and that the father would drive up from Peabody. QN waited and about 30 minutes later his father arrived. The father called for a tow truck and the father brought QN to QN’s mother’s house which was just around the corner.  The father then returned to the scene. The tow truck arrived but told the father that the car could not be towed because the car came to rest on private property (the front lawn of a house). The tow truck driver called the police and the police responded. The police arrived and asked the father what  happened. The father told the police that his son had been driving and lost control and that the father had brought the son to his mother’s house. The police went to the mother’s house and rang the doorbell but no one responded. The police charged QN with Leaving the Scene of a Property Damage Accident. The police charged the father with Misleading a Police Officer.

Father and son met with Attorney Robert Lewin from North Andover. Attorney Lewin pointed out that he did not believe that any law had been broken!

The hit and run law requires that when a driver is involved in a collision he must stop at the scene and “make known his name, residence, and the register number of his motor vehicle”. The law requires that the information be given “to the person whose property was damaged, if reasonably possible, and if not, to someone acting in their interest or to some public officer or to some other person at or near the place at the time of the damage.” QN had remained at the scene for 30 minutes. All of his information was known to his father and as soon as the police arrived the father told the police his son’s name and residence address. The registration plate was on the car and plainly visible to the police. Attorney Lewin pointed out to QN that he only left the scene AFTER he had made known what happened to his father and that he therefore had substantially complied with the requirements of the law.