Lubbock police are reminding everyone that if you hit someone with your car, the worst possible move is to just drive away like you’re in Grand Theft Auto. On August 19, 44-year-old Todd Boicourt was riding his electric bike when a red pickup plowed into him near Idalou Road and the Loop. He ended up in the hospital with serious injuries. The truck—and its driver—are still MIA.
Lt. Brady Cross of the Major Crash Unit spelled it out: stay on the scene and you might get a ticket; flee the scene and congratulations, you just leveled up to a third-degree felony. In other words, the difference between a slap on the wrist and years in prison is whether you stick around.
But, as Cross pointed out, Lubbock drivers are apparently prone to panic (or drunk) and think peeling out solves the problem. Spoiler: it doesn’t. “Regardless of what motivated them to run, whether it was fear or something else, it just really doesn’t matter,” he said. Translation: nobody cares why—you still left a guy bleeding on the road.
So here’s the free legal advice from LPD: if you crash, don’t add “felon” to your résumé. Stick around, own up, and maybe, just maybe, you’ll only walk away with a ticket instead of a prison jumpsuit.
