Charged with Leaving the Scene in Medway? This is a Criminal Charge, Not a Traffic Ticket.
An arrest, police visit to your home, or a formal criminal citation for Leaving the Scene of an Accident (commonly known as a Hit and Run) in Medway is an immediate, high-stakes threat to your life. Many drivers are completely shocked to discover that what they thought was a minor mishap—such as brushing a guardrail on Route 109, clipping a parked car's side-view mirror near a commercial plaza on Main Street, or hitting a deer off Holliston Street—is treated as a serious criminal offense.
In Massachusetts, leaving the scene of an accident is a criminal misdemeanor or felony offense under vehicle tracking laws, not a routine civil traffic infraction.
If a conviction hits your record, it leaves a permanent criminal mark on your public CORI (Criminal Offender Record Information) history, signaling to future corporate employers, landlords, and auto insurance underwriters that you are untrustworthy or fled to hide a crime. Furthermore, it triggers a mandatory, automatic driver's license revocation by the Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV) that a judge cannot legally override.
At The Law Offices of Kensley Barrett, I recognize that hit-and-run allegations are frequently the result of an honest mistake. Drivers routinely fail to realize physical contact occurred due to heavy rain, loud music, or poor road visibility, or they pull over in a safer, secondary location further down Route 126 due to heavy traffic—only for an observer to panic and report their plate number to the Medway Police Department. I provide the strategic, aggressive criminal defense required to challenge the state's case, protect your driving record, and save your license.
II. Understanding Massachusetts Hit & Run Laws (M.G.L. c. 90, § 24)
To secure a valid conviction against you for leaving the scene of an accident under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 90, Section 24(2)(a) or Section 24(1/2), the Norfolk County District Attorney's Office must prove five explicit elements beyond a reasonable doubt:
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Operation: The defendant physically operated the motor vehicle.
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Public Way: The operation took place on a public highway, street, or a location where the public has an absolute right of access (such as a commercial retail parking lot).
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Active Collision: The defendant's vehicle was knowingly involved in an active collision that directly caused damage to another vehicle, real property, or physical injury to an individual.
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Guilty Knowledge: The defendant actively knew that an accident occurred and that damage or injury resulted.
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Failure to Compliance: The defendant failed to stop and make their identity known by providing their name, residential address, registration number, and license data to the other operator, property owner, or responding law enforcement officers.
The Crucial Battleground: Actual Knowledge of Damage
The state cannot convict you simply by proving your car touched another object. The absolute primary battleground in a Section 24 defense is the element of knowledge.
If you were operating a large commercial vehicle or SUV, had a heavy sound system playing, or the impact was a minor scrape during a dark, stormy night, you may have been completely, genuinely unaware that a collision occurred. If you lacked subjective, active knowledge that you caused property damage or personal injury at the exact millisecond of the collision, you have not committed a crime.
III. Value Classifications, Criminal Penalties, and RMV License Loss
The statutory penalties and the mandatory registry license suspensions scale dramatically based on whether the collision involved basic property damage or physical personal injury:
1. Leaving the Scene of Property Damage (c. 90 § 24(2)(a))
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Statutory Category: Misdemeanor
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Criminal Exposure: 2 weeks up to 2 Years in a local House of Correction, paired with fines ranging from $20 to $200.
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Mandatory RMV License Revocation: Minimum 60-Day Loss of Driving Privileges for a first offense; a 1-Year Loss for a subsequent offense.
2. Leaving the Scene of Personal Injury - Non-Fatal (c. 90 § 24(1/2)(a1/2))
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Statutory Category: Serious Misdemeanor / Concurrent Felony
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Criminal Exposure: 2 months up to 2 Years in a local House of Correction, paired with fines ranging from $500 to $1,000.
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Mandatory RMV License Revocation: Minimum 1-Year Loss of Driving Privileges.
3. Leaving the Scene of an Accident Resulting in Death (c. 90 § 24(1/2)(b))
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Statutory Category: Top-Tier Felony
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Criminal Exposure: Mandatory Minimum 1 Year up to 10 Years in a State Prison, paired with fines up to $5,000.
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Mandatory RMV License Revocation: Minimum 3-Year Loss of Driving Privileges.
IV. Wrentham District Court – Case Proceedings
If you are cited, summonsed, or investigated for a hit-and-run allegation within the town lines of Medway, your criminal case will be processed exclusively at the regional courthouse:
📍 Wrentham District Court
60 East Street
Wrentham, MA 02093
📞 Phone: (508) 384-3106
• First Justice: Hon. Thomas L. Finigan
• Clerk-Magistrate: Pamela Gauvin-Fernandes
The Pre-Arraignment Window (Clerk-Magistrate Show Cause)
In the vast majority of hit-and-run property damage instances where a physical arrest was not executed at the scene, the Medway Police will choose to mail an Application for a Criminal Complaint. This schedules you for a Clerk-Magistrate Hearing before Clerk-Magistrate Pamela Gauvin-Fernandes or her assistant clerks at the Wrentham courthouse.
This hearing is our absolute best opportunity to save your driving record and CORI. I handle these pre-arraignment show-cause hearings regularly. By cross-examining the investigating officer, demonstrating a total lack of initial knowledge, or presenting immediate proof that your auto insurance provider has already processed a claim and issued full financial restitution to the property owner, I can frequently convince the magistrate to deny the complaint completely. This kills the case permanently before a formal criminal charge ever prints onto your record, completely bypassing court probation and the mandatory RMV license loss.
V. Strategic Defensive Frameworks to Win Your Case
If a formal criminal complaint has already issued against you at an arraignment, I implement an aggressive defense strategy designed to exploit the gaps in the state's evidence:
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Dismantling Identity (Who Was Driving?): Identifying the car is not enough to convict you. A license plate number only links a vehicle to a registered owner; it does not prove who was physically sitting behind the steering wheel at the exact second of the crash. If the police lack a reliable eyewitness statement or video stream showing your face, I argue that the state cannot cross its legal identification burden, forcing an acquittal.
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Proving a Lack of Knowing Awareness: I collect local weather data, vehicle diagnostic logs, and physical vehicle metrics to establish that the impact was minor or obscured. By demonstrating that it was entirely reasonable for you to be unaware that contact occurred, we break the mandatory element of criminal intent.
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The "Safer Location" Defense: If you were involved in a collision on a dark, narrow section of road or highway, slamming your brakes or stopping immediately could create a multi-car pileup. If I can demonstrate that you intentionally continued driving a short distance strictly to find a well-lit, safe turnout area to handle the exchange, you did not "flee" the scene under the definition of the statute.
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Securing Pre-Trial Diversion / Section 87 Tracks: For first-time offenders, local college students, or working corporate professionals, I leverage my professional standing with the Norfolk County prosecutors to secure a Pre-Trial Probation track under M.G.L. c. 276, § 87. This framework ensures that after a brief compliance window, the entire case is completely dismissed without an admission of guilt, protecting your public record and your driving privileges.
VI. Contact Our Medway Hit & Run Defense Attorney Immediately
If you discover a Medway Police card left in your doorway, or if an investigator leaves a voicemail asking you to "call and talk about your car," you must exercise your right to remain completely silent. Do not call the officer back to say "I didn't think I hit them" or "I was scared."
Under interrogation, traffic investigators will use your cooperative explanations to legally lock in the absolute hardest elements of the state's case: your physical identity as the driver and your admission that you were at the scene.
Let me handle the police communication on your behalf. Contact me immediately to secure a completely confidential evaluation of your case options and build an aggressive defense.
Massachusetts Office 📍 572 Washington Street, Suite 21
Wellesley, MA 02482
📞 Phone: (857) 229-2442
Rhode Island Office 📍 1000 Chapel View Blvd, Suite 260
Cranston, RI 02920
📞 Phone: (401) 425-4059
🌐 Website: www.krbarrettlaw.com
When your driver's license and freedom are on the line, strategic representation is your only lifeline. Call today.
Firm Contact Information
The Law Offices of Kensley Barrett
572 Washington Street, Suite 21, Wellesley, MA 02482
Phone: (857) 229-2442
Website: www.krbarrettlaw.com
