Hit & Run Defense Lawyer

The U.S. justice system allows you to present a defense, with the assistance of a qualified attorney, against your hit-and-run charges. In the past, we’ve helped clients like you provide effective defenses and receive favorable outcomes in their cases.

If any of the following excuses apply to you, you may be able to use them in your hit-and-run defense.

You Did Not Willfully Leave the Scene

A hit-and-run involves willfully leaving the scene of a vehicle accident. However, if you left the scene unwillingly, you may not have actually committed a hit-and-run offense.
For example, let’s say you were driving and had a friend riding in the passenger seat. As soon as you struck the other driver’s vehicle, your passenger forced you to trade seats, then drove away. In this case, you did not willfully leave the accident scene.

You Had No Knowledge of the Collision or Damage

If you did not know that you caused any property damage, you may be able to use this lack of knowledge as a defense in your case.

For example, let’s say that you rear-ended another driver at a stoplight. You and the driver both exited your vehicles to survey the damage, only to find no visible impact on either car. You both left the scene without exchanging contact information. However, the police showed up at your house later that day to charge you with a hit-and-run violation.

In this case, because you did not reasonably know that the accident caused damage, you may not have actually committed a hit-and-run violation.

You Left a Note on the Other Driver’s Vehicle

California vehicle code VC 20002(a) allows drivers involved in accidents to place a note in a “conspicuous place” containing their contact information and a written statement rather than speaking with the other vehicle owner directly. If you placed this note on a vehicle yet the vehicle owner failed to see it, you may be able to use this detail in your defense.

Depending on the circumstances surrounding the vehicle collision, you can receive a misdemeanor or a felony charge for a hit-and-run. Here are the details of these two types of hit-and-run charges:

Misdemeanor Hit-and-Run

You may receive a misdemeanor hit-and-run charge if you fled the scene of an accident that only resulted in property damage. You may face the following penalties for a misdemeanor hit-and-run:

• Up to six months of jail time
• Up to $1,000 in fines
• Two points on your driving record
• A misdemeanor criminal record
• Informal probation

Felony Hit-and-Run

More severe hit-and-run cases can result in felony criminal charges. A felony hit-and-run can occur when a person flees the scene of a collision in which another driver or passenger was injured or even killed.

If you fled from a vehicle accident in which another person was injured, you may face the following penalties:

• Up to a one-year county jail sentence or four-year prison sentence
• Up to a $10,000 fine
• Two points on your driving record
• A felony criminal record
• Formal supervised probation

Unfortunately, if your hit-and-run case resulted in a death, you may face murder charges.

Additionally, these penalties may be more severe if you were intoxicated leading up to the vehicle collision or if you have received misdemeanor or felony charges in the past ten years.

A hit-and-run is a scenario in which a vehicle driver flees the scene after a collision.
California Vehicle Codes require drivers to perform specific duties during and after vehicle collisions. Failing to abide by any of the following codes may result in a hit-and-run charge:

VC 20001(a)

When a driver is involved in a collision that injures or kills another person, the driver must immediately stop their vehicle and perform the actions in VC 20003.

VC 20002(a)

When a driver is involved in a collision resulting only in property damage, they must find the nearest safe location to pull over and either locate the property owner and provide the below information or leave a note on the property with the below information.

VC 20003

A driver in the above scenario must perform the following actions:
Provide their name and residence address to other driver(s) involved
Provide the names and addresses of any occupants injured in the accident to other drivers involved

• Provide their driver's license upon request
• Provide all necessary information to law enforcement officers on the scene
• Assist the injured persons as well as they reasonably can

As you can see, a hit-and-run does not only occur when you immediately flee the scene of an accident. Instead, you can also receive a hit-and-run charge for failing to provide your contact information following an accident.

You may also receive a hit-and-run charge even if you were not at fault for the accident. For example, if you were not at fault yet failed to provide your insurance information, you risk violating the above statutes.