After an accident, the first thing most people do is stop to make sure everyone is okay. At that moment, it doesn’t matter who is at fault. What matters is that everyone who needs medical help gets it.
In a case involving a hit-and-run driver, a person who causes an accident doesn’t stop at the scene. There’s no excuse for this behavior; leaving the scene when people are hurt can mean they don’t get care quickly and suffer more as a result.
Why would someone leave the scene after hitting another person, especially if he or she was a pedestrian? It comes down to psychology. Some believe that drivers who flee don’t have empathy for others. On top of that, the driver may blame someone else for his or her behaviors, refusing to take responsibility for the incident he or she caused. For instance, the driver may say to him or herself, “That person shouldn’t have been in the road if he or she didn’t want to get hit.”
A lack of moral judgment isn’t something someone can learn. It’s something that is taught at a young age, and some people simply don’t have it. Psychologists believe that many people who leave the scenes of crimes or accidents tell themselves that the situation wasn’t that bad and that it was minimally important; these are both signs that an individual has a personality issue. Even if they do eventually worry about the victim, they may refuse to turn themselves in for fear about their own arrests.
After a crash, you deserve care and empathy. If someone flees, remember what you can about the vehicle. Once he or she is caught, you can pursue a claim against the driver and may also participate if he or she faces a criminal trial.
Source: NBC 10, “Why Hit-and-Run Drivers Flee,” Vince Lattanzio, accessed Nov. 24, 2017