“Charged Twice For Same Offence?”

Hi,

I had an issue where I run a red light and ended up in an accident. The cop that showed up at the scene of the accident issued me a ticket for failing to obey a traffic sign and told me she gave me this instead of the running a red light because it was the less expensive one. So I went ahead and paid for it.

Two weeks later i get a ticket in the mail for running the red light for 325$. How can i be charged twice for the same offense and what are my options at this point.

Thank you

Just to clarify, the second ticket was from an automated red light camera?

Yes, and received it in the mail yesterday.

Huh. Sorry, I don't have a good answer for you. It does sound like double jeopardy to me though. Hopefully some more experienced members will chip in some advice. I will be watching...

For the red light camera offence, you would have been charged as the owner of the car, not as the driver. I don't know if that complicates matters. Call the court office and ask. If there's no way to resolve it, request a trial and show the prosecutor the ticket you received and proof you paid it. That may help.