Actress Faces Multiple Hit-and-Run Charges

Actress Amanda Bynes could face up to 1 year in jail if convicted on charges that she was involved in two hit-and-run crashes in southern California.

Orange County Trial Lawyer Houman Fakhimi knows that while such allegations are serious, they are not unbeatable. It depends on a variety of factors, including:

• Witness statements
• Chemical results
• Your own statements
• Surveillance video
• Physical evidence

A skilled criminal defense lawyer can attack the strength and validity of any or all of these factors. Even if the evidence seems to be weighted in favor of the prosecution, an experienced attorney can work to help negotiate a plea agreement that works in your favor.

Hit-and-run incidents in Orange County are governed by California Vehicle Code 2002. Essentially, you can be charged under this statute if you leave the scene of an accident before you've identified yourself to others involved or if another person's property was damaged. This statute applies whether or not you were at fault, whether or not anyone was injured and regardless of the amount of damage that was sustained.

In this case, Bynes was allegedly involved in two such incidents, one in April and another in early August.

The crash in April occurred when she reportedly struck a cruiser belonging to an L.A. County Sheriff's deputy. She reportedly fled the scene, but was stopped a short time later, and arrested with DUI, refusing a sobriety test and hit-and-run.

Then in August, the Los Angeles Police Department received a report of a hit-and-run crash on Ventura Boulevard. According to witnesses, Bynes reportedly struck another vehicle from behind, causing damages. The driver told police that Bynes stopped only briefly, said there was no damage and then left without providing her insurance information or allowing anyone to call police.

When police located the actress, she told them that both she and the other woman mutually determined there had been no damage. However, investigators determined there was about $800 in damage.

Both cases were forwarded to the district attorney's office, where prosecutors recently decided to press forward with charges.

Bynes had infamously sent a Twitter message directed at President Barack Obama following her first arrest, asking him to fire the officer who arrested her. The person more appropriate to provide help in these situation is an experienced criminal defense lawyer in Orange County.

As she awaits trial, the state's Department of Motor Vehicles has suspended driver's license.

Contact Houman Fakhimi trial attorney at (714) 705-6701 as soon as possible if you are charged with a crime in Orange County.