Hit-and-run suspect says a smartphone app caused him to hit a pedestrian without realizing it

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14. well i'm not a lawyer, so you may well be right. however,

and i'm sure it varies by state, but there are probably several laws regarding "hit-and-run". the biggest difference among them i would think relates to whether or not there was intent in the "hit", rather than the "run" (!)

presuming the "hit" was accidental or negligent, or in any event not planned, it seems to me rather bad law to let people who fail to brake when they hit someone to gain an advantage by fleeing the scene. i would think that evidence of braking would be just about the only thing that would prove that the person knew they were about to hit someone and therefore that most likely knew they did in fact hit someone and therefore there was intent in the "run". so if there are no brake marks, you'd be better off fleeing and hoping to get away with it.

better law would rely not on the actual driver's intent, but on whether or not a reasonable person would know they had hit someone.

which i why i took the texting explanation as doing nothing to mitigate guilt -- a reasonable person would not be so distracted as to be oblivious to having hit someone, especially if there was a loud enough noise that people inside houses heard it.