Attorney Ian Goldman Weighs in on Beating of Driver that Struck Pedestrian

there was an unfortunate incident which took place this past weekend on Ocean Avenue in Lakewood Township Police have said that a driver struck a pedestrian and when he went to check on the pedestrian's well-being he was attacked by the victim's family and friends Unfortunately The Pedestrian died from her injuries and the driver was severely beaten there is a debate raging today over mob Justice and this case immediately made me recall a similar incident which took place in New York City this was front page national news for several weeks and there Alexi and lean and his family were surrounded by a group of bikers after he accidentally ran one over the bikers pulled him from his car and beat him to a bloody pulp before bystanders pulled him out of The Fray now in regards to the Lakewood investigation the death by Auto would be investigated by the prosecutor's office and the assault by the Lakewood Police Department and there's a few critical questions we would want to know in regards to the death by Auto investigation my first questions would be was there drugs or was there alcohol involved I would want to know if the driver was acting recklessly with excessive speeding or by texting while driving I would want to know if the car had any major defects what were the lighting conditions what was the location and position of the bystander when she was was struck by the car was she on the shoulder of the road or was she in the middle of the road uh in regards to the assault I would want to know what are the intentions what were the intentions of the bystandard did they just want to detain the driver until the police arrived or did they initiate and provoke the contact uh I'd also want to know did the driver feel threatened for safety when he saw a number of individuals approach him and therefore prompt the bystanders into attacking into attacking him by making certain words or hand gestures these are all questions that we would all ask ourselves and after an investigation of the facts and each individual's actions we would know what charges can be supported by the evidence there were still an enormous amount of Investigation to be conducted now what should the driver have done mind you I cannot stress enough that these are extraordinary circumstances unlikely to happen happen to anyone they are very rare however for starters I would advise always travel with a Charged cell phone this is just plain old common sense and in the event of an accident even a minor one you cannot go wrong with calling the police who often arrive within minutes I know there's hesitation to call the police especially in minor fender benders uh about insurance rates and whatnot but nobody really regrets one airing on the side of a caution also it is Humane to get out of a car and check on someone you've injured in an accident this is the Humane thing to do and I would never ever CAU someone not to do it however that said you need to trust your instincts that's what they are there for if you feel uncomfortable or it's nighttime or a crowd is gathered stay in your car until the police arrive it's usually within minutes um it is illegal to leave the scene of a crime however if you call the police tell them what happened tell them you're driving over to the police station or you're driving a few blocks away and where they can meet you under certain circumstances the police may elect not to charge you uh given those circumstances I leave you with this instant Justice is not true Justice we live in a country that has rules and that has standards and those measures are put in place to protect us all of us two wrongs do not make a right and this is an unfortunate situation on both sides