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What are hit-and-run charges?
In this article, you’ll learn about:
Let’s dig in.
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Hit and run accidents can lead to serious injuries or fatalities.
Victims of hit and run accidents are left on their own to deal with:
Not every driver of a vehicle leaves the scene of an accident intentionally.
Some people go into shock, get scared, or are not able to stay on the scene.
Shock can be a common result of the accident.
A hit and run is when a driver intentionally leaves the scene of an accident without:
A hit and run charge is a formal accusation made by a prosecutor.
They are accusing you of leaving the scene of an accident without:
Generally, hit and run is a felony offense that can carry:
Those convicted of a hit and run may face an automatic license suspension.
They may also get ordered to pay damages to any victims involved in the incident.
Hit and run charges may also appear on the driver’s permanent record.
This can make it more difficult to secure employment or other financial opportunities.
For hit and run laws, drivers are legally required to remain at the scene of the accident.
Per hit and run statutes, you can leave the scene of an accident after you:
If you fail to follow these rules, you can get charged with hit and run.
Some hit and run examples are the owner of the vehicle:
This section will cover:
We’re going to cover all of the scenarios that you can face with a hit and run accident.
Here are the penalties for hit and run offenses resulting in:
With all of these, your driver’s license can get suspended for up to 5 years.
If you kill two people during a hit and run, you won’t serve two 15-year sentences.
The judge will likely lump them together and give you, say, 20 years instead.
They have the ability to impose different jail sentences on you.
The civil penalties for a hit and run depend on the severity of the car accident.
You’ll get sued for:
There are two scenarios for a hit and run settlement.
Let’s say that someone sues you and wins $1,000,000, who pays that?
It can either be:
When an insurance company pays the settlement, they will issue:
Let’s say that insurance doesn’t cover it and the driver has to pay out of pocket.
They have the options to:
A payment plan would get set up for monthly payments.
If the person doesn’t pay each month, they could face more fines and jail time.
Hit and run is a serious crime you can face severe consequences for.
Depending on the severity of the incident, a hit and run can be a misdemeanor or a felony.
A misdemeanor hit and run may result:
A felony hit and run can result in time in a state or federal prison and a criminal record.
A hit and run can also have long-term consequences.
Such as increased car insurance rates and difficulty securing a loan or job.
A hit and run driver can get sued by the victim of the incident.
And get held liable for medical bills and other damages.
Your hit and run charges can get tacked onto other criminal charges, too, like:
If you hit a parked car, be sure to leave your information on the car.
Put your information in a conspicuous place on the car.
And take a photo of it being on the car for proof.
Otherwise, the other person can claim the vehicle accident was a hit and run.
Even if it wasn’t.
You’ll need this photo evidence to get a revocation of your hit and run charges.
Here are the penalties for a hit and run of a parked car, resulting in:
The same rules apply here as normal.
It’s likely that you’ll just cause minor property damage to a parked, unattended vehicle.
State | Maximum Jail Time | Maximum Fines | Charges | Statute of Limitations |
---|---|---|---|---|
Alabama | 1 year | $6,000 | Misdemeanor | 2 years |
Alaska | 5 years | $50,000 | Felony | 5 years |
Arizona | 2 years | $2,500 | Misdemeanor | 3 years |
Arkansas | 6 years | $10,000 | Felony | 3 years |
California | 1 year | $10,000 | Misdemeanor | 2 years |
Colorado | 18 months | $500 | Misdemeanor | 3 years |
Connecticut | 5 years | $5,000 | Felony | 5 years |
Delaware | 8 months | $1,500 | Misdemeanor | 2 years |
Florida | 5 years | $10,000 | Felony | 4 years |
Georgia | 1 year | $1,000 | Misdemeanor | 4 years |
Hawaii | 5 years | $10,000 | Felony | 3 years |
Idaho | 5 years | $5,000 | Felony | 4 years |
Illinois | 7 years | $10,000 | Felony | 3 years |
Indiana | 2 years | $10,000 | Felony | 3 years |
Iowa | 5 years | $7,500 | Felony | 3 years |
Kansas | 1 year | $2,500 | Misdemeanor | 5 years |
Kentucky | 1 year | $500 | Misdemeanor | 5 years |
Louisiana | 5 years | $5,000 | Felony | 3 years |
Maine | 5 years | $5,000 | Felony | 6 years |
Maryland | 5 years | $5,000 | Felony | 3 years |
Massachusetts | 5 years | $5,000 | Felony | 6 years |
Michigan | 5 years | $1,000 | Misdemeanor | 6 years |
Minnesota | 1 year | $3,000 | Misdemeanor | 2 years |
Mississippi | 5 years | $5,000 | Felony | 3 years |
Missouri | 5 years | $7,500 | Felony | 3 years |
Montana | 1 year | $1,000 | Misdemeanor | 3 years |
Nebraska | 5 years | $10,000 | Felony | 3 years |
Nevada | 4 years | $5,000 | Felony | 4 years |
New Hampshire | 7 years | $5,000 | Felony | 3 years |
New Jersey | 5 years | $15,000 | Felony | 5 years |
New Mexico | 3 years | $5,000 | Felony | 4 years |
New York | 7 years | $5,000 | Felony | 5 years |
North Carolina | 1 year | $1,000 | Misdemeanor | 3 years |
North Dakota | 5 years | $10,000 | Felony | 5 years |
Ohio | 6 months | $1,000 | Misdemeanor | 2 years |
Oklahoma | 1 year | $1,000 | Misdemeanor | 2 years |
Oregon | 1 year | $6,250 | Misdemeanor | 3 years |
Pennsylvania | 7 years | $10,000 | Felony | 2 years |
Rhode Island | 5 years | $5,000 | Felony | 5 years |
South Carolina | 5 years | $5,000 | Felony | 3 years |
South Dakota | 5 years | $10,000 | Felony | 3 years |
Tennessee | 1 year | $2,500 | Misdemeanor | 2 years |
Texas | 10 years | $10,000 | Felony | 3 years |
Utah | 1 year | $2,500 | Misdemeanor | 2 years |
Vermont | 5 years | $10,000 | Felony | 3 years |
Virginia | 1 year | $2,500 | Misdemeanor | 5 years |
Washington | 3 years | $5,000 | Misdemeanor | 3 years |
West Virginia | 1 year | $1,000 | Misdemeanor | 3 years |
Wisconsin | 6 years | $10,000 | Felony | 5 years |
Wyoming | 3 years | $7,500 | Felony | 4 years |
Hit and run charges are considered minor if there:
Hit and run death charges vary depending on the jurisdiction.
Hit and run death charges can range from involuntary manslaughter or vehicular homicide.
All the way up to leaving the scene of an accident involving a death.
These are a felony in most jurisdictions.
Penalties for hit and run death charges can include:
A hit and run ticket will get you:
This is JUST the ticket that law enforcement issues you.
These are separate from the court fines mentioned above.
You can get a ticket, fines, and jail time for hit and runs.
The fines for a hit and run are:
If you hit two people, you will owe fines for EACH person you hit.
If you kill two people, you’ll have to pay $20,000 in fines.
The penalty for a hit and run with no injuries is:
In this section, you’ll learn about:
Fill out the form on this page to get a free consultation with our law firms.
We handle both:
Someone just hit you and left the scene of the accident.
Your next steps should be to:
Police will investigate the accident scene, looking for:
They use this information to figure out the car’s make and model.
Then, they will talk to the witnesses of the accident.
If possible, they will look at local surveillance footage.
Once they find the driver, they will issue an arrest warrant for them.
Your insurance company will need information like:
You’ll need to give your insurance company medical records if you sustained personal injuries.
This will show them:
Your personal injury lawyer will also need this information.
The evidence that you need to convict a hit and run are that the accused person:
This evidence can include things like:
It’s the prosecutor’s responsibility to prove that the person committed hit and run.
Let’s talk about your defense strategy against a hit and run.
And legal defenses for how to beat your criminal charges.
You need to work with your criminal defense lawyer to come up with a strong defense strategy.
They will review your evidence and tailor a defense to your case.
Our attorneys can challenge evidence and surface weaknesses in the prosecutor’s case.
(i.e., There not being evidence that proves your guilt without a reasonable doubt.)
They can also reduce the severity of your criminal charges under local laws.
The steps you need to take to beat a hit and run charge are:
The defenses that we can use to protect you in a hit and run case are:
Fill out the form on this page to get a free consultation with our hit and run lawyers.
We have the experience you need to defend yourself in a hit and run case.
These are the most common questions we get from our hit and run clients.
Yes, hit and runs are a crime that get you either a misdemeanor or felony charges.
If you injure or kill someone, you’ll get felony charges.
If you just cause minor property damage, you’ll get a misdemeanor.
Yes, a hit and run is, at minimum, a misdemeanor charge.
A hit and run is a felony if you injure or kill someone.
Yes, you can go to jail for a hit and run.
You can go to jail for:
The charges for a hit and run on a parked car are normally:
It depends on the amount of evidence the police have.
They can find you in a few hours if they have your license plate number.
It could take a few weeks to find you if they don’t have any information.
Police will normally continue a hit and run investigation until they find the culprit.
They will extend their investigations for months.
But, there are statutes of limitations.
Check the table earlier in this article to see the statute of limitations in your state.
It’s impossible to say how long it will take for the police to contact you after a hit and run.
How long it takes the police to reach out to you will depend on:
They can find the suspect in a few hours if they have your license plate number.
It could take a few weeks if they don’t have any information on them.
If you are facing a conviction of hit and run, fill out the form on this page.
Our criminal defense attorneys have the experience you need to defend your rights.
This way, you don’t:
You deserve a fair trial in the criminal justice system.
We can provide you with that.
Talk soon.
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