A 75 year-old Fullerton woman was convicted of felony hit and run causing death by an Orange County, California judge stemming from an incident in August of 2007. Ana Maria Torres ran over 89 year-old Jessie Pound on August 26, 2007 as she was leaving the parking lot of Saint Joseph Catholic Church in Placentia where she had attended morning mass. Pound, whose DNA was found on a piece of clothing underneath Torres’ car, later died of her injuries.
Torres claims to not have known she had hit or anyone and even attended a family function later that same day. Torres was also found guilty of misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence as well as providing false information to a police officer. When Torres was questioned by the local police about the incident, she lied about which church service she had attended on that day and at one point claimed she had walked to church. Torres is scheduled to be sentenced on October 16th and could face up to four years in prison.
In a city like Los Angeles where there are millions of cars driven every day, collisions are common. California law, however, requires that when anyone is involved in a collision with another person, or another person’s property, both parties must stop and produce the proper documentation before leaving the scene. If the driver leaves the scene of the collision before producing a driver’s license, insurance information and vehicle identification number, then the accident is considered a
hit and run, which is a criminal offense in California. If the owner of damaged property is not present, the driver causing the damage is required by law to leave a note with all the same information for the owner to contact them at a later time.
Hit and run cases can be classified as either misdemeanor or felony criminal offenses depending on the circumstances of the accident and the severity of the damage. Cases where the hit and run involves bodily injury or death are nearly always felony criminal offenses. Penalties for
hit and run cases can range from fines and restitution to time in a California state prison, again depending on the severity of the case. Don’t let panic after an accident land you in jail.
If you have been charged with a
hit and run, call the attorneys at Stephen G. Rodriguez & Associates today. Our attorneys have decades of combined experience in defending against hit and run charges and will fight for you. In many cases, our attorneys may even be able to have charges against you dismissed and criminal court proceedings halted. Call today to begin preparing your defense.
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