ABC Family actor Jake Austin is finally being charged with hit and run for an accident happened in November 2013. The 19-year-oldactor was with friends when he hit three parked cars in Sherman Oaks, California. The actor left the car on scene and called a car service to pick him up. The police were ultimately able to determine the car belonged to Austin.
Hit and run is punishable by jail and a hefty fine in California. The hit-and-run charge is not Austin’s only problem. About a month before the hit and run, Austin got a DUI, and he is currently on probation for the DUI. If Austin was on probation on the date of the hit and run, then the new charge may be a violation of his DUI probation. If, however, he was not yet on probation as of the date of the accident, then the new charge is not a violation of probation.
Colorado recently changed its hit-and-run law, lengthening the statute of limitations to prosecute these types of cases. A statute of limitations, puts a limit on how long a case may be investigated without a person being charged. This law change gives law enforcement and prosecutors more time to find hit-and-run drivers.
In Colorado, hit and run is a 12-point offense and is a habitual traffic hit. Habitual traffic charges may result in revocation of driving privileges, not only for points, but also if too many habitual traffic convictions are accumulated in too short a period of time, then a person’s privilege may be revoked for being a habitual traffic offender.