RESULTING IN SERIOUS BODILY INJURY
(N.J.S.A. 2C:12-1.1) model jury charge
The
indictment charges the defendant with the offense of leaving the scene of an
accident resulting in serious bodily injury to another as follows:
(Read pertinent count of indictment)
The
defendant is accused of violating a section of our state statutes that reads as
follows:
A motor vehicle operator who knows that he is involved
in an accident and knowingly leaves the scene of that accident . . . shall be
guilty of a crime. . . if the accident results in serious bodily injury to
another person.
In order
for you to find the defendant guilty of this offense, you must find that the
State has proved beyond a reasonable doubt each of the following elements:
1. that the defendant was operating a motor
vehicle and was involved in an accident
while operating that motor vehicle;
2. that the defendant knew that he/she was involved in an accident;
3. that the defendant knowingly and unlawfully
left the scene of that accident; and
4. that the accident resulted in serious bodily
injury to another person.
The
first element that the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt is that the
defendant was operating a motor vehicle and was involved in an accident while
operating the motor vehicle. A motor
vehicle is any vehicle propelled otherwise than by muscular power, except such
vehicles as run only upon rails or tracks and motorized bicycles.[1]
The
second element that the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt is that the
defendant knew that he/she
was involved in an accident.
A person
knows that he/she
was involved in an accident if he/she
is aware that he/she
was involved in an accident or is aware of a probability that he/she
was involved in an accident.
The third
element that the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt is that the
defendant knowingly and unlawfully left the scene of the accident.
A
motorist knowingly leaves the scene of an accident if he/she
is aware that he/she
is leaving the scene of an accident or is aware of a high probability that he/she
is leaving the scene of an accident.
To
determine whether the State has proved beyond a reasonable doubt that the
defendant unlawfully left the scene of an accident, you must understand the
obligations that New Jersey law places on a motorist who is involved in an
accident.
A
motorist who knows that he/she
has been involved in an accident must:
(2)
immediately stop his/her vehicle as
close to the scene of the accident as possible and forthwith return to the
scene of the accident.[2]
A
motorist who fails to stop under these circumstances unlawfully leaves the
scene of an accident. However, the State
need not prove that the defendant knew of his/her legal
obligation to stop at or near the scene of the accident.
The
fourth element that the State must prove beyond a reasonable doubt is that the
accident resulted in serious bodily injury to another person.
Serious
bodily injury means bodily injury which creates a substantial risk of death or
which causes serious, permanent disfigurement, or protracted loss or impairment
of any bodily member or organ.[3]
The State
need not prove that defendant knew that the accident had resulted in serious
bodily injury.
If
you find that the State has proved each element of the offense beyond a
reasonable doubt, then you must find the defendant guilty.
If you
find that the State has failed to prove any element of the offense beyond a
reasonable doubt, then you must find the defendant not guilty.
[2] If the sufficiency of the defendant’s stay
at the scene of the accident becomes an issue, please refer to N.J.S.A.
39:4-129(c), which specifies how long a motorist must remain at the scene of an
accident.