Foreword: According to Article 3 of the Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues Concerning the Specific Application of Law in the Trial of Criminal Cases Involving Traffic Accidents (hereinafter referred to as the "Interpretation"), fleeing after a hit-and-run refers to the act of fleeing after a traffic accident in order to evade legal prosecution. In judicial practice, how should we correctly determine "escape after the accident"? The content of this issue is 6 Guiding Cases published in the Criminal Trial Reference of the Criminal Trial Division of the Supreme People's Court on determining whether the perpetrator constitutes "escape after a hit-and-run".
Guiding Case No. 176 of the Criminal Trial Division of the Supreme People's Court
Zhou Lijie Traffic Accident Case - How to Determine Fleeing After a Traffic Accident?
【Judicial Summary】
1. The so-called escape is objectively manifested as fleeing from the scene of the accident and absconding in fear of crime, and once the escape behavior is implemented, it is established. Even if the perpetrator fled the scene of the accident not far or soon. That is, being chased by the traffic police or being intercepted or twisted by others does not affect the determination of "fleeing after a traffic accident", so there is no problem of "attempted escape". If the perpetrator has indeed fled after constituting a traffic accident, then even if the perpetrator is in the process of escape or in the process of continuous escape, he can promptly give up his purpose of evading legal prosecution. Voluntarily surrendering, truthfully confessing, waiting to be dealt with, and regardless of the reasons why the suspension of escape is based on personal discovery or fear of aggravation of criminal responsibility, the act of "suspension of escape" after the fact must not overturn the determination of his previous escape, but only determine that his subsequent behavior is voluntary surrender, that is, separate determination, and it is not appropriate to offset each other.
2. The perpetrator transports the injured person to the hospital for rescue after the accident. Those who are caught on the way or in the hospital before the timely reporting of the case in the future should generally be deemed to have no purpose of evading legal prosecution, but if they secretly leave after sending the injured person to the hospital, there are conditions for reporting the case and it is possible to be caught after not reporting the case. It should be found to have the purpose of evading legal prosecution. Similarly, in the case of temporary evasion of victims caused by the victim's relatives, the perpetrator's temporary evasion is only a temporary emergency or preventive evacuation measure taken based on the urgent situation of the victim's relatives' actual harm or the high probability of actual harm, and the purpose of temporary evasion shall be deemed to not have the purpose of evading legal prosecution and is not an escape after the hit-and-run; Its nature, which in turn translates into escape after a hit-and-run, should also be regarded as having the purpose of evading legal prosecution.
Guiding Case No. 220 of the Criminal Trial Division of the Supreme People's Court
Ni Qingguo Traffic Accident Case - How to accurately grasp the situation of "after the traffic accident took the victim away from the scene of the accident and abandoned, resulting in the victim can not get help and died"?
Although the defendant took the victim away from the scene after the accident, although its purpose has always been to save the victim, when he believes that the victim is dead, he abandons the victim and flees. At that time, the subjective mentality of the defendant had changed: from actively treating the victim to fleeing to escape the legal prosecution of the body. The defendant had sufficient time and conditions to report the crime before the incident, but still deliberately concealed it until he was caught and arrested. The defendant's conduct conformed to the characteristics of fleeing after a traffic accident and constituted "escape after a hit-and-run".
Guiding Case No. 415 of the Criminal Trial Division of the Supreme People's Court
Sun Xianyu's traffic accident case - can the act of fleeing the scene in a traffic accident and then surrendering voluntarily be considered a "hit-and-run"?
The determination that the perpetrator "escaped" cannot only be determined by whether the perpetrator left the scene, but the key lies in whether the perpetrator has the behavioral characteristics of "actively performing the rescue obligation" and "immediately surrendering" at the same time. If the perpetrator actively assists the victim after the accident, such as intercepting the vehicle to send the victim to the hospital, and immediately reporting the case in the hospital waiting for the public security organs to review and deal with it, although he left the scene of the accident, it was caused by the rescue of the victim, of course, it is not "escape" after the traffic accident. On the other hand, if the perpetrator does not surrender immediately after actively performing the rescue obligation, such as fleeing after taking the victim to the hospital, or if the perpetrator surrenders immediately but has the ability to perform but does not actively perform the rescue obligation, it is an act of "escape" to evade legal prosecution after the accident.
Guiding Case No. 697 of the Criminal Trial Division of the Supreme People's Court
Wang Youbin Traffic Accident Case - Fleeing after a traffic accident and voluntarily surrendering constitutes voluntary surrender, but within the statutory sentencing range of the escape circumstances, it is decided whether to impose a lighter punishment according to the circumstances
1. To determine whether the perpetrator constitutes "fleeing after a traffic accident", it should be mainly analyzed from the following aspects:
(1) Examine whether the perpetrator knows that he has caused the traffic accident. The "knowing" mentioned here means that the perpetrator "knows" or "should know". If the perpetrator "should have known" that he had caused the traffic accident and pretended not to know, and fled the scene of the accident, it should still be deemed to be "fleeing after the traffic accident". To judge whether the perpetrator knows, we should adhere to the principle of the unity of subjectivity and objectivity, not only to look at the confession of the perpetrator, but also to objectively judge whether the perpetrator knew it from the time, place, road conditions, knowledge and experience possessed by the perpetrator at the time of the incident, so as to determine whether it constitutes escape.
(2) Examine whether the perpetrator has the subjective purpose of evading legal prosecution. "Evading legal prosecution" here includes both evasion of criminal legal prosecution and evasion of civil and administrative legal prosecution. Specifically, it is to fail to perform relevant statutory obligations, such as protecting the scene, rescuing the injured, promptly reporting the case, listening to the handling, etc., and evading the corresponding legal responsibilities, such as civil compensation, administrative punishment, criminal conviction and punishment. After a traffic accident, as long as the perpetrator evades any of the above-mentioned legal liabilities, it is "evading legal prosecution".
(3) Examine whether the perpetrator objectively committed the act of fleeing the scene. Specifically, it refers to the act of the perpetrator deliberately fleeing the scene of the accident or related places after the traffic accident accident and before accepting the first handling by the accident handling organ, so that he is not controlled by the injured party, the masses or the accident handling personnel.
Only by clarifying the time and place of "escape" can we accurately determine whether the perpetrator has carried out the act of fleeing the scene:
First, the time for the perpetrator to "escape" must be defined. The Interpretation defines the time of "escape" as "after a traffic accident". Only the act of escape that occurred after the occurrence of a traffic accident and in the period before the perpetrator accepted the first handling of the accident handling organ can establish the "escape" in these Provisions. The so-called first-time handling refers to the first-time handling measures taken by the accident handling organ to list the perpetrator as a suspect, such as interrogation, alcohol content testing, administrative detention, criminal detention, etc. If the perpetrator stays at the scene to be investigated after a traffic accident, but does not truthfully confess and lets others commit crimes, and the accident handling organ does not list him as a suspect when questioned, he who escapes afterwards shall also be deemed to have fled after the traffic accident. However, if the perpetrator flees after receiving the first treatment, since the victim has generally been treated and the perpetrator of the accident has also determined that the escape of the perpetrator will not expand or aggravate the harmful consequences to the victim, it is actually an escape act that escapes from the control and supervision of the accident handling organ, so it should no longer be regarded as an escape after a traffic accident, and the responsibility for the escape act can be pursued according to law. If, after the accident, the perpetrator has been taken into criminal detention by the public security organs or released on guarantee pending further investigation, and then carries out the act of fleeing the scene, he may be investigated for responsibility for the escape act in accordance with law, and his escape behavior should no longer be identified as an escape after a traffic accident. It should be noted that if the perpetrator flees the scene after the accident occurs and is accepted as the suspect of the accident for the first time before the accident handling organ is dealt with for the first time, it is established as soon as it is carried out, and no matter how far away he has fled the scene or how long he has been fleeing, and no matter what action he has taken after he has fled, it will not affect the determination of the nature of his escape. Therefore, if the perpetrator flees the scene of the accident in order to evade legal prosecution, returns to the scene based on the discovery of personal conscience, accepts treatment, or is intercepted or caught shortly after fleeing the scene, it does not affect the establishment of the "escape after a traffic accident" plot.
Secondly, the space for the perpetrator to "escape" must be defined. The Interpretation does not limit the place of escape, but from the perspective of its meaning, it should not be limited to the "scene of the accident". The scene refers to the place where the criminal committed the crime and all the places where traces and items related to the crime are left behind. We believe that the scene of traffic hit-and-run includes not only the scene of the accident, but also the place that has a close connection with the scene of the accident, such as the hospital that rescues the casualties of the accident and the traffic police department that investigates the responsibility for the accident. Because fleeing the scene of the accident will certainly make the accident liability determination and other difficulties, but fleeing the hospital, traffic police departments and other places will also hinder the handling of the accident and evade legal prosecution.
For example, if the perpetrator does not flee the scene of the accident after the traffic accident, takes the initiative to send the injured person to the hospital for rescue, and then fears to bear medical expenses or leaves the hospital without authorization in order to evade criminal responsibility, it is an escape from the scene and should be deemed to be an escape. For another example, if the perpetrator takes the initiative to go to the office building of the traffic police department after the traffic accident, wants to surrender himself, and then absconds in fear of crime, although he did not have the purpose of evading legal prosecution when he left the scene of the accident, the purpose of leaving the scene of the accident handling was to evade legal prosecution, and it was also an escape from the scene, which should be regarded as escape.
Guiding Case No. 788 of the Criminal Trial Division of the Supreme People's Court
Liu Benlu traffic accident case - After the traffic accident, the perpetrator was treated in the hospital due to injury, and when the public security organ asked him about the case, he refused to confess the accident and fabricated identity information, and then fled the hospital, should it be recognized as "fleeing after the traffic accident?"
The basic meaning of "fleeing after a traffic accident" refers to the behavior of fleeing after a traffic accident in which the perpetrator does not perform his obligations to protect the scene, actively rescue, and promptly report the case. According to Article 3 of the Interpretation, in order to determine escape, the perpetrator must subjectively have the purpose of "evading legal prosecution" and objectively carry out the act of escape, and the escape here should not be limited to fleeing only from the scene of the accident. In judicial practice, there are a large number of cases of fleeing after traffic accidents. Some of the perpetrators did not have the conditions to escape at the scene because they were injured in the accident, but they fled in the treatment, and some of the perpetrators sent the injured to the hospital for rescue and found that the injuries were serious or dead, so they left a false name and a fake phone and disappeared. These circumstances also reflect the deepening of the subjective malignancy of the perpetrators, which increases the difficulty of detecting the case and increases the risk of loss of life and property of the victims. Based on the above analysis, as long as the act of fleeing after a traffic accident in order to evade legal prosecution should be regarded as "fleeing after a traffic accident".
Guiding Case No. 857 of the Criminal Trial Division of the Supreme People's Court
How to determine the circumstances of Gong Mou's traffic accident case - "fleeing after a traffic accident"?
The following three conditions should be met at the same time to constitute a "traffic accident and escape":
(1) The conduct must be complete with the basic elements of the crime of traffic accident, which is the basic condition for determining the circumstances of "fleeing after a traffic accident".
(2) The perpetrator subjectively has the purpose of "evading legal prosecution", which is the subjective condition for determining "fleeing after a traffic accident". Evading legal prosecution, including evading criminal, civil, and administrative liability. In practice, if the actor leaves the scene of the accident without a legitimate reason (including but not limited to the scene of the accident), it shall be determined that the actor has the subjective purpose of escaping legal prosecution.
(3) There is an objective act of fleeing, and the act of fleeing may affect the rescue of the victim, lead to the expansion of the loss of the accident, and hinder the investigation and handling of the accident by the police. If the "escape" of the perpetrator does not affect his performance of his statutory obligations under the Road Traffic Safety Law, his "fleeing" shall not be found to constitute a circumstance of "fleeing after a traffic accident", and therefore shall not bear the aggravating penalty for the crime of traffic accident.
1. Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues Concerning the Specific Application of Law in the Trial of Criminal Cases Involving Traffic Accidents (2000)
Article 2 Whoever commits a traffic accident shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years or criminal detention in any of the following circumstances: (1) where one person dies or three or more serious injuries are seriously injured, and bears full or main responsibility for the accident; (2) where three or more persons are killed and equally responsible for the accident; (3) where the direct loss of public property or the property of others is caused, the person is fully or mainly responsible for the accident, and the amount of compensation is unable to be more than 300,000 yuan.
A person who is seriously injured in a traffic accident and bears full or primary responsibility for the accident, and has any of the following circumstances, shall be convicted and punished as a traffic accident: (1) driving a motor vehicle after drinking or taking drugs; (2) driving a motor vehicle without driving qualifications; (3) driving knowingly a motor vehicle with incomplete safety devices or failing safety machinery; (4) driving knowingly a motor vehicle without a license or scrapped; (5) driving a serious overload; (6) fleeing the scene of an accident in order to evade legal prosecution.
Article 3: "Fleeing after a traffic accident" refers to the act of the perpetrator fleeing in order to evade legal prosecution after a traffic accident after one of the circumstances provided for in paragraph 1 of Article 2 and subparagraphs (1) to (5) of the second paragraph of this Interpretation.
2. Jiangsu Provincial High People's Court Jiangsu Provincial People's Procuratorate Jiangsu Provincial Public Security Department Opinions on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in Handling Criminal Cases of Traffic Accidents (Trial Implementation)
12. The act of the perpetrator of a traffic accident knowing that a traffic accident has occurred, driving a vehicle or abandoning the car to flee the scene of the accident shall generally be regarded as escape. In any of the following circumstances, it shall generally be deemed to be fleeing after a traffic accident:
(1) Although the victim is sent to the hospital, he does not report the case or leaves the hospital without reason, or leaves the hospital after falsely reporting false identity information and contact information to the victim, the victim's relatives, or medical personnel;
(2) After the traffic accident occurs, there is no consensus on the relevant matters, or the compensation fee paid after consultation is obviously insufficient, and the perpetrator does not leave his valid information and forcibly leaves the scene;
(3) After a traffic accident occurs, the perpetrator fails to promptly report to the local public security organ, and after leaving the scene, reports to the public security organ of a different county (city);
(4) Other circumstances that should be determined to be fleeing after a traffic accident in accordance with law.
13. In any of the following circumstances, it is generally not considered to be fleeing after a traffic accident:
(1) The perpetrator drives away from the scene and has sufficient evidence to prove that he did not know or could not detect the accident;
(2) The perpetrator leaves the scene in order to promptly rescue the victim, and promptly reports to the police and accepts investigation;
(3) After the perpetrator has sent the victim to the hospital, he truly needs to temporarily leave the hospital for the purpose of raising medical expenses, and with the consent of the victim, the victim's relatives, or medical personnel, or leaves his or her valid information, he or she promptly returns within a reasonable period of time;
(4) The perpetrator leaves the scene due to his serious injury and needs to go to the hospital for treatment, and is unable to report the case in a timely manner;
(5) There is evidence that the perpetrator was forced to leave the scene of the accident due to possible personal injury, and promptly reported the case for investigation;
(6) The perpetrator escapes after being taken compulsory measures by the judicial organs;
(7) Although the perpetrator has not been taken compulsory measures by the judicial organs, he has been questioned, investigated, and truthfully confessed his personal circumstances and the facts of the conduct by the public security organs before fleeing.
Source: Smoke and Rain Fa meng