“I see.” Jake shot Ryan a glance. He had guessed correctly that there was no legal obligation, only a moral one, which paradoxically, wasn’t the same thing.
“As your lawyer, I would be under no obligation to counsel you to go to the police. My sole inquiry would be, what can I do for you, legally. I would begin by asking if you had an alibi—”
Ryan interrupted, “But what if wewantedto go to the police and tell them everything? What would the police do? Can we explain what happened?”
“Ryan—” Jake started to say, but Hubbard waved him off.
“Ryan, that’s a good question. I’m happy to answer it. You’re always free to go to the police. But, if that was something that you both decided you wanted to do, I would make sure that before you did it, we arranged a plea bargain.” Hubbard spoke slowly, without judgment. “Let me explain what a plea bargain would be in this case. Under 75 Pennsylvania Code Section 3744, an adult who strikes and kills someone with a car, and does not remain at the scene, call the police, and give information, is guilty of vehicular homicide and leaving the scene of an accident. That’s a felony of the second degree, carrying a five-year prison sentence—”
“It wasn’t an adult who killed someone, it was me,” Ryan interrupted again, and Hubbard pursed his lips in his dense beard.
Jake felt his heart sink, but he didn’t want to upset Ryan by telling him that he’d just said the exact wrong thing. “Ryan, let Mr. Hubbard continue, then you can ask questions later.”
Hubbard nodded. “Ryan, let me finish. I think I’ll be answering your question.”
“Dad, no.” Ryan shook his head. “I don’t want him to think you did anything wrong. You were just in the car. I want him to knowIwas driving andIwas the one who hit her.”
“It’s okay, buddy.” Jake turned to Hubbard, and the two men locked eyes, both of them tacitly understanding that Jake’s cover story, in which he was the driver, was now blown. “Mr. Hubbard, you were saying?”
Hubbard relinked his short fingers. “So in the case where the driver is unlicensed and—”
“I have a learner’s permit,” Ryan broke in.
“Okay,” Hubbard continued, “the driver has a learner’s permit. But he’s driving outside of the restricted hours, yes?”
“Yes.”
“Dad is in the passenger seat, presumably having permitted son to drive, correct?”
“Yes,” Ryan answered, but Hubbard turned to Jake.
“Jake, are you aware of the doctrine of negligent entrustment?”
“No,” Jake answered, but he could figure out the gist. “I’m at fault because I let him drive, right?”
“Correct, but it’s more serious than that, in the event of a fatality. It’s criminal.”
Jake swallowed hard. “I didn’t know that.”
“Most people don’t, and I can see that you’ve been more worried about your son’s legal responsibility, than your own.” Hubbard’s expression softened. “I understand, I have a son, myself. You thought of him first.”
“What’s my legal responsibility?” Jake asked, feeling his heartbeat quicken.
“You would be charged with permitting violation of title, in breach of 75 Pennsylvania Code Section 1575, and you would be charged as an accomplice to involuntary manslaughter for negligently entrusting an underage driver to drive. The penalty can be up to five years in prison.”
Ryan gasped. “What?My dad would go to jail? But he didn’tdoanything!”
“He would be charged with an F2, a felony of the second degree.”
Jake absorbed the information, momentarily speechless. He had known it was wrong to let Ryan drive, but he never would have expected it had legal implications, much less a prison sentence.
“No!” Ryan started shaking his head, agitated. “Mr. Hubbard, really, my dad justsatthere, in the passenger seat! He didn’t do anythingwrong!”
Hubbard nodded calmly, in Jake’s direction. “Yes, he did. He let you drive. You’re an underage driver. As such, if your father permits you to drive and you have a fatal accident, your father is legally more culpable than you. He is a person in a position of authority over you and he was supervising you. The law views him as running the show, not you.”
“That’s not fair, I wasdriving!” Ryan cried out, and Jake reached over and put a hand on his arm.
“Ryan, let him tell us the law and we’ll sort it out later.”
