Hitting a city sign pole

Hey guys

Its my first post in this forum. I'm sure this case is complex and we will need a lawyer or paralegal but i just want to get the feel of things since i've been really upset about it.

My wife was making a left turn when she hit the sign pole in the middle of the lane and knocked it down. Since it was her first time in this kind of situation she paniced and decided to report the accident later since the damage to the car was less then $1000. Obviously, she did not realize at the time that any damage to city porpety has to be notified right away.

While on her way back she was stopped and handed over three summons to appear in court

1. imporper left turn

2. fail to report

3. fail to remain at scene

She told the officer that she was going to report the accident but he still gave her summons to appear in court

What is the difference between a formal ticket and summons to appear in court ? and what are the chances or clearing these tickets ?

Thanks for your help in advance

A ticket is something that can be resolved out of court by simply paying it, or you can opt for a trial, etc. A summons is where you are going to have to appear in court regardless. (There's more to it than that, but that's the simplest explanation.) Both of them charge you with an offence, but a summons is used (as the name suggests) to summon you to court. Summons are issued on more serious offences - like fail to remain.

Definitely get professional help for this. I can't specifically say what the odds are of beating this charge. I guess the real question is, how long had it been after the collision with the sign pole when she was charged?

The other big difference is that with a Part III summons there is no set fine amount, as there is with a ticket. Some offences, like Fail to Remain are automatically Part III, as they have no set fine, but if you are issued a summons for a fine that normally has a set fine, such as Improper Turn, the set fine does not apply under a Part III. In all Part III matters fines are limited only by the maximum amount prescribed in the Provincial Offences Act, which is $5000 unless otherwise specified in the particular section. That being said, they almost never issue the maximum amount.

Radar Identified wrote:

I guess the real question is, how long had it been after the collision with the sign pole when she was charged?

Thanks alot for your replis guys, really appreciate

She stayed at the scence for half an hour and when she left, was charged 10 minutes later

oppositeset wrote:

She stayed at the scence for half an hour and when she left, was charged 10 minutes later

This doesn't sound as bad as it could have been. It's not like she hit the sign pole, kept driving and was charged two weeks later. Did she call the police from the scene of the collision?

I think a paralegal would have an opportunity to do a few things with the charges. Call around, see what they say.

Thanks alot for your help on this matter

Do you guys suggest we go to the summons hearing on our own since all we will get over there is the next court date and from there choose a paralegal OR go with a paralegal starting right now ?

Either or. Your first attendance date will just be for you to get disclosure and set another date. You could ask for it to be a while into the future to give you the opportunity to retain counsel, then go to them with the disclosure in hand.

You should get professional help before you go to the set date court. Your appearance in court is not just to set another date but to give the court jurisdiction over the case. In many situations "information" does not match "summons to defendant" resulting in a conflict. In that case new summons has to be issued and the court does not have jurisdiction to deal with the matter until you were properly served.