How to get out of a hit-and-run charge – Top 5 defenses

You hit a parked car and then fled the accident scene. A prosecutor now wants to file a misdemeanor hit-and-run charge against you. Is there any way to get out of it?

Perhaps, yes. There are five common ways to try and get out of a hit-and-run charge. These are to show that:

1. there was no property damage,
2. you did not know of an accident,
3. you were the only person injured in the accident,
4. there was an emergency, and
5. you entered into a civil compromise.

The hit and run laws of most states say that misdemeanor hit and run is the criminal offense where you:

1. get into a car accident that causes property damage, and
2. flee the accident scene.¹

The crime can result in a felony charge if you flee the scene of an accident in which another person was injured or killed.²

1. No Property Damage

Yes. Recall that you are only guilty of hit and run if you:

1. are involved in a car accident that involves property damage, and
2. flee the scene of the accident.

To convict defendants in misdemeanor hit-and-run cases, a prosecutor has to show that your motor vehicle accident caused some type of property damage.

This means you can always try to escape criminal charges by showing that no property was damaged in an accident.

Example: John is driving through a suburban neighborhood in the middle of winter. He slips on a patch of ice and just barely grazes a home’s mailbox. He inspects the accident and doesn’t see any damage to either his car or the mailbox. John drives away.

Here, John is not guilty of hit-and-run. While he was in a slight accident, there was no property damage.

2. Lack of Knowledge

It can be, yes. A hit-and-run lawyer or criminal defense attorney can often help you contest a charge by showing that you did not know you were in a hit-and-run accident.

In the above example, though, note that Kim could face reckless driving charges.

Example: Kim is driving in the middle of a windstorm. Branches and debris are hitting her windshield and hood. At one point, her car slides to the left and she scrapes the car next to her. Kim does not stop because she thought the scraping noise was more debris.

A prosecutor would probably not pursue a hit-and-run charge here because, given Kim’s lack of knowledge, there was no criminal intent.

Further, the owner of the scratched vehicle could try to recover compensation for the scrape by filing a civil lawsuit against Kim and showing that she was driving negligently.

3. No One Else Injured

Maybe, depending on the facts of the case. Remember that you may face a felony hit-and-run charge if you fled an accident scene that involved serious injury to someone else.

The key here is bodily injury to another person. If you were injured in an accident, but there was no other injured person, then a prosecutor will likely not pursue a felony charge.

However, the prosecutor could file a misdemeanor charge if the accident resulted in property damage.

4. Emergency

A prosecutor may decide to drop a hit-and-run charge if you did not stop at an accident scene because you were responding to an emergency.

Example: Bob is driving his pregnant wife to the hospital. She went into labor a few minutes ago. Bob fails to stop at a stop sign. There is an accident resulting in damage to another car’s bumper. Bob does not stop and continues to the hospital.

Here, Bob could likely avoid any later hit-and-run charge. As with a criminal case involving lack of knowledge, Bob did not have any criminal intent. He was merely trying to get his wife medical treatment.

5. Civil Compromise

Some jurisdictions say that a civil compromise can lead to a dismissal of a hit-and-run charge.

A civil compromise is where:

1. you compensate a hit-and-run victim for any losses, and
2. in return, a judge or prosecutor dismisses the case.

A civil compromise is usually only available in misdemeanor hit-and-run cases. “Losses” in these cases are most often the cost of any property damage (for example, the cost to repair a dent or broken headlight).

6. Required Steps After an Accident

Most states say if you get into a motor vehicle accident, you must:

• stop at the accident scene, and
• give your contact information, registration number, and license plate number to anyone involved.³

If you hit a parked car, you should write this information down and leave it for the owner of the other car in a conspicuous place.

If an accident results in personal injury to another person, you should provide reasonable assistance and render aid.⁴

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