Aug 29, 2003 By Jennifer Harr 3 min read

The state Superior Court ruled Thursday that Pennsylvania’s hit-and-run statute does not violate constitutional rights against self-incrimination. The ruling, which came out of an appeal from Fayette County, means that drivers still have the responsibility to stop, render aid and give information if they are involved in an accident involving injury or death.

“Given the public’s legitimate and recognized interest in ensuring that drivers remain at the scene of an accident and accept their responsibilities, both humanitarian and financial, we hold that the regulatory requirements of … the Commonwealth’s hit-and-run statute do not contravene the privilege against self-incrimination and are constitutional…,” wrote Superior Court Judge Robert A. Graci.

David Jason Long’s appeal was the first in over 65 years to question whether or not the statute violated both Pennsylvania and United States constitutions, according to the ruling.

Long, 26, of Grindstone, was convicted of accidents involving death or serious injury, the technical term for hit-and-run, after he hit and killed Georges Tringes Jr. along Route 166 in April 2001.

Although Long was also charged with homicide by vehicle and other lesser charges, jurors found him not guilty of those counts.

Long testified that he thought he initially thought he hit a garbage bag along the dark roadway. However, when he noticed damage to his car, Long testified he went back to the scene. When he saw he hit a person, Long called 911 on a nearby payphone, but gave a fake name and address and then left the scene.

He turned himself in four days later, when he realized Tringes had died.

Long’s trial attorney, Martha Bailor, argued that he did fulfill the hit-and-run statute by calling and eventually turning himself in, but jurors convicted him.

Judge Steve P. Leskinen sentenced Long to 15 to 30 months in prison.

As part of her appeal, Bailor claimed that if Long had stopped, given aid and provided his name, he would have been incriminating himself in a potentially criminal act.

The Superior Court, however, debunked that claim, noting that the spirit of the statute was not to incriminate someone, rather to make certain that financial responsibilities were upheld.

“While there is the possibility that a driver may incriminate himself by remaining at the scene and providing this information, public policy dictates that the driver remain to provide immediate physical aid and to accept potential financial responsibility,” wrote Graci.

Superior Court President Judge Joseph A. DelSole and Judge Phyllis W. Beck also participated in deliberations for the opinion.

The three judges also ruled that, in calling 911 and eventually turning himself in, Long did not comply with the hit-and-run statute as his lawyer contended.

“Long did not provide police with correct identification, but instead gave a false name and address and did not come forward with either correct identification or to assume responsibility for hitting the victim until four days later, after he learned that the victim had died,” wrote Graci.

The panel found that Long’s four-day wait to turn himself in “was an evasion rather than a realization of responsibility, and in violation of the intent of the Act.”

The judges also rejected a claim that Leskinen abused his discretion in sentencing Long by considering the four-day wait to turn himself in. According to the ruling, because Leskinen also considered other factors, his sentence was legal.

Long, currently free on bond, still has the option to appeal to the state Supreme Court.