r/interesting • u/Maleficent-Town5273 • Aug 20 '26

Additional Context Pinned Hit and run gone wrong

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u/Mcpr0per Aug 20 '26

why would you trap a crazy person in. just get their license plate number and report it.

27

u/Jawnyblaze1 Aug 20 '26

Yea, that was something that crossed my mind too. I clicked the news article that was linked above, the person that trapped her in was just a bystander, not even the person she hit. I'm pretty sure he can't legally restrain her like that. Take the license plate number, call the cops, your duty (and the extent of what you're allowed to do) is done.

-3

u/Narrow_Hat Aug 20 '26

Yes, he can legally restrain her. It's called a citizen's arrest and it's legal when someone has committed a felony, such as a hit and run.

3

u/Jawnyblaze1 Aug 20 '26 edited Aug 20 '26

"A hit-and-run can be a felony or misdemeanor. It depends on the state laws and what happened during the crash. If the crash only caused minor property damage with no injuries, it is usually a misdemeanor."

Unlikely it was a felony unless somene was injured, which it doesn't sound like it was.

"Generally, a random bystander can attempt to restrain a fleeing driver under citizen's arrest laws, but it carries massive legal and physical risks. If the hit-and-run involves a felony (such as serious injury or death), most jurisdictions permit a private citizen to detain the suspect. For minor property-damage hit-and-runs (which may only be misdemeanors or traffic infractions), local laws often forbid physical detention by bystanders."

So unless she caused serious injury or death in the hit-and-run, it was likely illegal for that rando to block her in like that. And even in the event a "citizen's arrest" was legal, there is a risk of the bystander breaking additional laws in the process. The news article on the situation someone linked above strongly implied the hit and run was not a felony, therefore the "citizen's arrest" was not legal.