Hit and run penalty for a 16 yr old? Please help! I'm freaking out?

Question

Hi, I was at a parking lot mall and i accidentally hit another person's car and made a dent. At the time i didn't know it, there were a few cars and Im not sure if there was a camera there or not. THis happened yesterday. If they figure my license plate out, what is going to happen to me? This is in california. Will i go to jail? how much do i have to pay? I didn't know that i made a dent...I'm 16 and i got my license a couple of weeks ago! I AM FREAKING OUT! I'm so sorry !!

Answer 1

Relax take a deep breath'

A mall parking lot is not govern under your licence. it private property So you think there may be some wittiness unless they talk to the cops, they better make sure they have a plate number most cops got better things to do. If a camera caught in on tape the cop will make the decision wither to purpose it. It depend on the monies's damage. For a  ex under 1000 dollars it at worth the tape or the wittiness.Or the insurance will contact the own of the car and ask for money or coverage So relax your young and inexpedience, your bound to make a few driving mistakes good luck relax

Answer 2

Relax. No one was hurt. They may not even see the dent. If you didn't know it at the time, how do you know it now?

Answer 3

CALM DOWN!!! A fender bender is just that, minor sh*t. If you don't get  anything by the of the week, it's history. PS don't drive the car around for awhile in case someone did see your car. in fact, you may want to burn it.

Answer 4

What puzzles me is how did you know?  If you hit the car, then left, how would you know that you left a dent in their car.  Obviously you have a dent in your car.  Are you just assuming?

In any case, the typical rule for hit and run is that you 1) know you hit a car and 2) know you caused property damage.  If you did, you have to wait and exchange information with the driver of the other car or leave a note with your information in a conspicuous place.  Your defense is that you didn't know you caused property damage at the time of the incident.  If you later realized, when you got home, that you had property damage on your car, that still doesn't mean you knew at the time of the incident.

Anyway, that's your defense.  If you get contacted, you say "I did what?"  Admit nothing.  Admit that you knew nothing.  Check out the Cal. Veh. Code 20002 to research the issue yourself.  The typical fine is not more than $1,000, restitution and some weekend work.  That's if they catch you and if you confess to knowing you did damage.  Oh, probably a license restriction and DMV points.

Answer 5

Any time you hit a parked car you need to either wait and let the other driver inspect his car for any damage, or at least be more thorough in inspecting the areas of impact, take pictures, and leave a note on the person's windshield with your info if there is any damage. For all you know, that dent might have been from some previous accident and the other driver's trying to pin it on you. Nobody was injured in the accident, so most likely you would be looking at a fine.