Even in the age of TikTok videos where ordinary people in pursuit of fame seek to mesmerize you with the sound of their chewing, and in the age of AI-generated content made of unlikely combinations of incongruous elements, which does not pretend to be anything other than brain rot, the listicle is a genre that refuses to die. Listicles that rank the 50 states based on one or another criterion are a popular subgenre. Perhaps they can be fun, unless you are from one of the states that consistently rank in the bottom five when the listicles rank desirable qualities and in the top five when they rank undesirable ones.
If you are from Louisiana, Mississippi, West Virginia, or New Mexico, the listicles that target people who want to be mildly amused but are too old to download TikTok are downright depressing. They remind us that New Mexico is one of the poorest states with one of the lowest life expectancies. To take your mind off of it, go for a drive and enjoy the scenic views, which are unmatched anywhere else in the country. Of course, New Mexico ranks highly for dangers to motorists, too, including having the nation’s highest rate of fatal hit-and-run accidents. If you have been injured in a hit-and-run accident in New Mexico, contact a Santa Fe motor vehicle accident lawyer.
Leaving the Scene of a Serious Accident is a Frighteningly Common Occurrence in New Mexico
Hit and run is a colloquial term for leaving the scene of a car accident without exchanging contact information with the other driver or waiting until police arrive to file a report, or calling for help for anyone injured in the accident. Leaving the scene of an accident that involves death or bodily injury is a crime in New Mexico, as it is in every state.
In 2023, there were 2,872 fatal hit-and-run accidents in the United States. 41 of them were in New Mexico. That may not seem like many at first, but consider the matter from another perspective. All of the states that had more hit-and-run fatalities than New Mexico have larger populations. The number of fatal hit-and-run accidents per number of licensed drivers in the state was higher in New Mexico than it was anywhere else.
What to Do if the Driver Who Hit Your Car Left the Scene
If the driver who hit you left the scene of the accident, you still have the right to file an insurance claim to get compensation for your accident-related medical bills and vehicle repairs. By hiring a lawyer to negotiate with the insurance company on your behalf, you have a better chance of getting an adequate settlement.
Contact Slate Stern About Car Accident Lawsuits
Slate Stern is a personal injury lawyer who represents plaintiffs injured in car accidents in New Mexico. Contact Slate Stern in Santa Fe, New Mexico, or call (505)814-1517 to discuss your case.
Sources
https://www.mentalfloss.com/transportation/hit-and-run-accident-rates-by-state
Photo by Tom Strecker on Unsplash