ABANDONMENT OF THE SCENE OF THE ACCIDENT OR OMISSION OF THE DUTY OF RELIEV?

The driver of a motor vehicle or moped who voluntarily leaves the scene after being responsible for an accident in which someone dies or in which he causes injuries constituting a crime of negligence will be punished as the author of a crime abandonment of the scene of the accident, which can carry a penalty of up to 4 years in prison and deprivation of the driver's license for up to 4 years.

It is a crime in which the perpetrator can only be the driver who caused the accident and it is not necessary for him to leave the place with his vehicle, but he could even leave it in place and leave by other means.

It is still a crime but difficult to apply as the characteristic features of this behavior often coincide with that of the person who commits a crime of omission of the duty to help. Two cases must be distinguished:

1. In the event of an accident with one or more people dead, if the driver is aware of this result, we will not be facing a crime of omission of the duty to help, but rather the crime of abandoning the scene of the accident, because if help can no longer be provided to the victim what the driver surely intends is to flee to cover up his authorship.
2. In the event of an accident with one or more injured people, in the situation in which they are left helpless, we would be talking about the omission of the duty to help, and if you believe that they are being cared for by third parties, it would constitute this crime.

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From Adacc Advocats Accidents Catalunya we want to help you with any question or doubt that you have in relation to the production of a traffic accident or that has occurred in other different areas, such as work, maritime, air, domestic, school, etc. Do not hesitate to contact us. We do not charge anything to solve these doubts, because we share your concerns.