New York City Hit-and-Run Accidents

A New York Times photographer struck an NYPD traffic agent with his car and then fled in Gramercy on the morning of October 10, 2014. Luckily, the traffic agent was able to chase the driver down and detain him until cops arrived.

According to reports, the 56-year-old traffic agent was working at East 23rd Street and First Avenue around 8:30 a.m., when the photographer’s car clipped him and continued to East 25th Street. After a short two-block chase, the perpetrator was arrested and charged with obstructing governmental administration and leaving the scene of an accident.

New York law requires all motorists involved in a crash to stop and remain at the scene of the accident, regardless of whose fault the collision was. Moreover, the law also requires motorists to exchange driver’s licenses, insurance, and other pertinent information with the other parties involved. Bottom line: it is illegal to leave the scene of an accident.

Hit-and-run accident victims suffer because they tend to face significant expenses and losses such as medical costs and lost income as a result of having to take time away from work. Despite not being able to identify a perpetrator of a hit-and-run accident, there are still a number of ways to recover money for injuries sustained.

One avenue of recovery is that victims of hit-and-run crashes or their loved ones may be able to seek compensation from the uninsured motorist clause of their own auto insurance policy or from a quasi-state agency.

For more information on recovery methods for hit-and-run accidents, contact an experienced New York personal injury attorney at Sakkas, Cahn, & Weiss, LLP online or call (332) 239-1601.