“Ran A Red Light And Caused An Accident”

I was in a unfamiliar area of Toronto and was not feeling very well and god knows how that happened but I hit a car in near the driver's side front and my right side front. Air bag burst in my car. That driver hit the other car in the lane because of the impact. My 2008 Honda Civic and their 2002 Cavalier and 2002 Sienna were written off for insurance.

Fortunatly no one was injured otherwise I would not have forgiven myself. Still feeling guilty and shaken because of this. 50 Year old mom-secondary driver for hubby's car, have been driving for 14 years and this first accident- non drinker nothing of that sort- usually very careful driver. Today after 3 weeks I got a summons to appear before the Ontario court of justice for fail to stop, section 144, subsection 18 of the Highway Traffic Act.

I do not recall anything about how it happened but it must be my fault. Now what will happen in court? I feel so guilty that often think of killing myself for this.

Hello,

I cannot offer an experienced answer to your question; sorry. But I wanted to respond none the less. We call them "accidents" not "on purposes" for a reason. This was a sentement shared with me when I backed into a car that I inexplicably managed to never see before I heard the crunch. I understand that likely your failure to pay the proper attention in those moments caused a lot of damage, and no doubt much inconvenience, thankfully without serious injury. Those moments do not define you. Please don't let them. The uncomfortable part of this experience is not over, you seem to be in touch with how tough this is, and how easy it could have been so much worse; you'll learn from the mistake. I hope you have people you can lean on for support to help you through this tough time and know there will be good in each day ahead, good that you are deserving of.

I am sure others here can answer the questions about what to expect in court, and I wish you well.

Unless you received a summons instead of a regular ticket, you're not actually required to attend Court. You can simply pay the fine and be done with it.

Can you scan the summons/ticket and post it here for us to look at (with personal info blacked out)?

If it is a summons you do have to attend court that day (or have somebody represent you if you can not attend), but this is not a trial date. You simply have to show up and you can (1) plead guilty and be done with it (not recommended as it will affect you insurance), or (2) state you would like to see disclosure before you decide how to plead (recommended).

We all make mistakes but wanting to kill yourself over a car accident where nobody was even injured is certainly extreme. And remember you have been forced to pay for insurance since you owned the car to cover this exact situation.

Absolute worst case scenario in all this is that

(1) you are found guilty of fail to stop and have to pay a fine, and

(2) your insurance goes up.

But remember everybody is still okay and everybody still gets their cars fixed.

Thanks 287 and Jshrek for your kind words. Yes, I should think it in a positive way that at least no one was hurt.

Please find the attached copy of summons.

So this is a summons and not a ticket. So on December 8 when you show up (or have someone go for you) you can just simply say that you would like to get disclosure before you decide whether to plead guilty or not guilty.

Remember December 8 is not your trial, but you will appear before a Justice of Peace just to say you want disclosure before you plead.

So I will have to wait till December 8 and then ask for disclosure. I can not get that earlier than that, right?

Thanks jshrek.

You can try... you could write your disclosure request and see if you can get it ahead of time. You may or you may not.

But let me point out why you probably want to fight this ticket all the way...

At least one of the other two drivers MUST show up on the trial date (not December to testify that you were the driver.

The police officer will be there to give his evidence but without one of the other drivers, they must drop the case. Will they show up? They may or they may not!

So in your disclosure request you want to ask for the Notes of all officers involved and the Witness statements and Will-say statements of all witnesses involved.

Thanks Jshrek.

Good to know that if one of the driver doesn't come to trial I will be lucky;) I will ask for disclosure using Traffi combat format.

To clarify, if ONE shows up, that may still be enough convict you. But if both do not show up, then they must drop the charges.

However one might or might not be enough, depending on what their statements say. You have to read what they said carefully and see what they are specifically saying about you and your car.

Today received letter from lawyer that the driver of the car I hit the wants to commence legal action Nothing happened to him. I wish there is a way for these lawyers to know how much grief they are giving it to the people they sue for nothing.

I am ready to admit that yes, it was my mistake and I am going to feel guilty for it for the rest of my life but do you want me to pay for it by giving my life!

Just hand it over to your insurance company and let them worry about the lawsuit. Take comfort in the fact that if the person isn't really hurt and if they do get any money, it is nothing in comparison to the amount of BS your insurer will make them go through.

Yep, just call your insurance company and let them deal with it.

If a car accident is causing you to consider taking your life when nobody was even injured, then you should consider seeking proper medical/mental/spiritual treatment to deal with those issues, as I am sure your family does not want you to hurt yourself.

Yes, ynotp and Jshrek. I will inform insurance company and let them take care of it.

I am bit over sensitive and take things seriously. Have to learn "to let it go" and stop blaming myself.

Today I received 'Notice of Fine and Due Date" by post for $330 and due date is Nov 10. What does it mean? As per summons my trial is on Dec 8 2015 then why I have to pay now? This is the first time I have received this for fine. Very confused with the whole process!