What To Do If You’re Involved In A New Haven Hit and Run Accident

Over the last year or so, the city of New Haven as well as the entire state of Connecticut has seen a dramatic increase in the number of pedestrian deaths that have resulted from accidents throughout the state.  While lawmakers are working on ways to protect pedestrians these types of incidents continue to happen.  While not all accidents lead to deaths, one recent New Haven pedestrian accident did result in the death of the man who was walking along Sherman Parkway.  What made this most recent incident even worse is that the accident was a hit and run and the vehicle that struck this pedestrian was not found at the time of this writing.

While the death of a pedestrian is obviously heart wrenching for her/his family and friends it should also be concerning for our entire community.  When this type of incident happens it can make our community feel less safe and cause uneasiness about freely walking through the streets of the city.  There is no good to come out of a hit and run incident, especially when someone dies due to it, but there are some lessons we can take from this and other situations like it.

If you are a pedestrian who is walking, riding or running throughout the city you should take heed and move about the city with an added level of precaution so you can keep yourself safe and free from this fate.  To keep yourself safe you should avoid being out late at night as being a pedestrian gets progressively more dangerous the later you are out.  You should not be out if you have been drinking or using other recreational drugs as this will make your response time slower and will limit your ability to make good decisions.  One other thing you will want to do to make sure you do not suffer the fate of a hit and run accident or any other kind of pedestrian accident in the city is to always use designated areas of a street to walk and cross at.

In the event that you do find yourself in a hit and run situation, whether you are the person who are injured or a bystander there are some actions you can take to make sure that some resolution comes to the situation.

First, you should make sure that anyone that was involved in the incident is safely out of the road and in a place where they can be tended to both medically and emotionally after a dangerous situation like that unfolds.

Next, you will want to make sure that if the vehicle that struck you or the person who is injured is still within visible range that you make note of it’s license plate number and even better if you’re quick enough get a picture of the vehicle.

Third, if medical attention is necessary you should seek the medical attention of an EMT or other first responder.  If you are injured to the point where you will need hospitalization you should stay still until medical professionals arrive on the scene.

Finally, you will want to document the entire scene with photos so that when you are speaking with the police to help resolve the incident you have a very clear picture of where you are and exactly what happened.  Because this type of accident can be extremely traumatizing pictures can help jog your memory to give the most accurate assessment of what happened.

Getting into a New Haven pedestrian accident can be traumatizing, but when it involves someone leaving the scene of the accident it can be angering in many other ways.  The best thing you can do is to keep your cool and work to piece together the situation for the authorities so they can do their job and find who may be responsible for this act.

Once you’ve resolved the issue at the scene, you may need to speak with an attorney who can work with you to ensure that your future health and safety are cared for over time.  Contact our office and one of our experienced attorneys will work with you to protect your long-term interests.