I accidentally scrubbed a car at a shopping complex. I usually do not park close to other cars because I'm a fairly new driver and I'm a horrible parker, however today there was a heat advisory and it was scorching hot, so I wanted to get as close as possibe... then bam! This parking spot is right up front. The space was tight and as I was backing out I scrubbed the side of their car with the front of mine. I didn't know the owner and had no idea what store they might be in. the damage was not horrible... no denting just a scratch. My car is a dark color and thiers was white, a streak of my car's color is on thiers. I panicked and I forgot to leave a note. I don't know it there were any willing witnesses or anything but a lot of online blogs said I should confess to the crime at hand... my questions are...
1.if I confess will I immediately be thrown in jail?
2.how would I go about confessing?
3.who would I confess to?
4.if I do confess and the person reports the incident later could I ask that the issue be handled outside of court?

I don't think you have any options, tea, unless you got there license number you don't know them from a hole in the ground. How are you going to trace them to confess? You can go to the local police division and tell them your story. Maybe the other people reported it to the police, perhaps they didn't even notice the scratch and don't care.

This all hinges on how ethical you are.

Tick

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Originally Posted by tea09

i accidently scrubbed a car at a shopping complex. i usually do not park close to other cars because im a fairly new driver and im a horrible parker, however today there was a heat advisory and it was scorching hot, so i wanted to get as close as possibe...then bam! this parking spot is right up front. the space was tight and as i was backing out i scrubbed the side of thier car with the front of mine. i didn't know the owner and had no idea what store they might be in. the damage was not horrible...no denting just a scratch. my car is a dark color and thiers was white, a streak of my car's color is on thiers. i panicked and i forgot to leave a note. i don't know it there were any willing witnesses or anything but alot of online blogs said i should confess to the crime at hand... my questions are...
1.if i confess will i immediately be thrown in jail?
2.how would i go about confessing?
3.who would i confess to?
4.if i do confess and the person reports the incident later could i ask that the issue be handled outside of court?

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I'm a liability investigator and have been for some time. This is a rather familiar scenario to me. Here are my suggestions based on schooling and experience - stop giving excuses. You didn't SCRUB a car. You HIT a car. You are defending yourself by using a word other than HIT, which is what it was. I drive a foreign car and what is not horrible damage to you is extensive to me - that's just how it is.

Go to the Police and file a Police Report - maybe the other party did the same. If anyone got your plate number the Police could call you before you contact them. I wouldn't let it go that far.

You fill out an accident report. You admit to hitting the car and you confess to leaving the scene. Will you be arrested? No. Will you be ticketed? Probably not UNLESS someone has turned your plate number in.

I have no idea what you mean by "handle out of Court." If you mean can you pay without turning it over to your insurance company, yes IF the other person hasn't reported it to his/her company and that company hasn't contacted yours.

I realize you have had second thoughts and now you want to do the right thing and that's good. I have told you how to do it.