If ignorance of the law is no excuse, does knowledge of the law bring extra blame? Perhaps onlookers will think so, now that Georgetown University law professor Copacino is being charged for reckless driving and leaving the scene of an accident.
It allegedly happened at around 7:45 a. m. on January 24, when he smashed into the back of a BMW, owned by Vivianne Pommier, at 27th street and Military road.
Vivianne alleges, “He said, ‘I’m not waiting, and we said, ‘Oh yes you are.’ And he said, ‘No, no, no. I’m not waiting. I’m leaving.” And so he left without exchanging information,she said. Vivianne dutifully went on to report that “I had really bad whiplash. I had severe, severe headaches, and I could not move my left shoulder rotator cuff. The pain went right down into my hand. Went to the doctor’s twice.” Her BMW likewise suffered $600 in bumper damage.
There might, after all, be something to the charge, as another witness claimed that “We followed him for a few blocks … and he’s straddling into the other lanes of traffic and he swerves over. He ran a stop sign, and then there was a light that we came up to, and he accidentally stopped in the middle of the intersection.”
If true, it is an unfortunate turn of events, as Copacino has received an aware for his outstanding teaching, honored with the words, “an outstanding role model to his students.” He has so far declined to comment on the allegations.
A warrant has been issued for Copacino’s arrest.